Spanish submarine Mistral has just returned to her homeport in Cartagena, Spain, after participating in NATO’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise Dynamic Manta 15.
The manoeuvers were organized by COMSUBNATO and monitored by his Staff from Northwood, UK.
The exercise took place off the coast of Sicily, Italy, and focused on ASW training of aircraft, surface ships and submarines. Units from eight different nations participated including seven submarines, four surface ships, two ASW helicopters, one land-based helicopter and six maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).
During Dynamic Manta the submarine Mistral conducted ten drills with other submarines, four drills with ASW aircraft, three with surface ships and also conducted a reconnaissance of an ‘alleged’ hostile coast.
Although Mistral was one of the oldest participating submarines in service, she showed excellent capabilities thanks to a recent upgrading which permits long-lasting acoustic tracking of much modern targets.
The Mistral, commissioned in June 1985 and with a crew of 66 people, is the third Galerna-class submarine. After the recent overhaul and upgrading process, the Mistral was equipped with modern detection and tracking systems and a new weapons system, thus enhancing her combat capability.
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Image: Spanish Navy