Turkey is hosting NATO submarine rescue exercise Dynamic Monarch

A NATO-sponsored submarine escape and rescue (SMER) exercise kicked off in Turkey on September 8.

Dubbed Dynamic Monarch 2017, the exercise is the tenth in a series of live SMER drills and will run through September 21.

Dynamic Monarch’s venue is the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off Aksaz Turkey.

Units from Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom will participate in the submarine escape and rescue training scenarios. Additionally, representatives from Bangladesh, Chile, Israel and Sweden will observe the exercise.

This year, three submarines, four submarine rescue ships, five surface ships, four aircraft, three diving teams, three medical teams and one submarine parachute assistance group will demonstrate multinational submarine rescue cooperation and interoperability. The exercise enables worldwide partners to share SMER related knowledge.

The sea phase will run for 10 days and consist of numerous rescue and intervention exercises utilising rescue vehicles and chambers, remote operated vehicles, atmospheric diving suits and divers.

The training also features a 48-hour coordinated mass evacuation exercise (MASSEVEX) in which two major air transportable rescue vehicles, a U.S. Submarine Rescue Chambers Flyaway System and a tri-nation NATO Submarine Rescue System, will continuously provide evacuation efforts for personnel in a distressed submarine.