Dynamic Mongoose 2017, a NATO-led submarine surveillance exercise, began on Tuesday off the coast of Iceland.
Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from 10 allied nations gathered in the North Atlantic Ocean for anti-submarine and anti-surface training.
Submarines from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States, under operational control of NATO Submarine Command (COMSUBNATO), will join 11 surface ships from Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and a NATO research vessel, NRV Alliance, under the command of Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) Commodore Ole Morten Sandquist.
Host nation Iceland is providing support from both the Reykjavik Harbor and the Keflavik Air Base.
Icelandic Coast Guard will be joining the exercise with the vessel Týr.
To support the simulated multi-threat environment, 8 maritime aircraft from Canada, France, Germany, Iceland and the United States will operate from Keflavik Air Base under operational command of NATO Maritime Air Command (COMMARAIR), temporarily located at the base for the exercise.
“The presence of NATO in the waters south of Iceland is a a sign of an increased focus on the North Atlantic and will strengthen the Alliance’s knowledge and experience of the area,” said Arnor Sigurjonsson Director, Department of Security and Defence, Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
This year, NATO research vessel ALLIANCE, operated by the Italian Navy for the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) based in La Spezia (Italy), will participate to the exercise.
“[NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation] CMRE is looking forward to demonstrating autonomous security networks for ASW during DMON17,” said Kevin LePage , CMRE scientist-in-charge. “ The inclusion of CMRE in this exercise reflects NATO’s recognition of the importance of these future capabilities, and the commitment to working with researchers to improve the way NATO’s navies operate at sea.”