By Sergen Sezgin
CANAKKALE, Türkiye (AA) – A military exercise in Türkiye’s Gulf of Saros, in the Canakkale Strait, with observers from various countries, continues under the hosting of NATO in Türkiye, with the involvement of the Turkish Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard Command, along with floating and flying units.
As part of the Nusret-2023 Invitation Exercise, which is set to conclude on Wednesday, the TCG Bayraktar ship carried out a mine-laying operation during the Distinguished Observer Day in the Gulf of Saros.
C-130 aircraft dropped mines from the air into the sea. Identified by an ROV, the mines were detonated and destroyed by Mine Warfare Divers (MHD), while the Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HOSA) operated in the mined area.
As part of the Tactical Claw Operation, SAS commandos jumped from a helicopter, placed a fuse near a detected mine, were extracted back to the helicopter, and once in a safe zone, detonated and destroyed the mine.
The exercise concluded after the evacuation of injured personnel by helicopter and a ceremonial procession following the demolition.
- Units from 10 countries are observing exercise
The exercise included Turkish forces such as Mine Fleet Commander and Commodores of the 1st and 2nd Search and Sweep Flotillas and 1st Amphibious Ships Flotilla.
It featured one command ship, one frigate, two patrol ships, eight mine countermeasure vessels, two helicopters, 1 underwater defense team, 2 Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle teams, one unmanned aerial vehicle, 2 Coast Guard ships, two helicopters from the Land Forces Command, 2 F-16s on mission flights, and 1 C-130 transport aircraft from the Air Force Command.
The exercise involves NATO Standing Naval Mine Countermeasures Group-2, with Italian, Spanish, and Greek mine countermeasure vessels and explosive ordnance disposal teams from various countries.
The units from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, South Korea, the Philippines, Kuwait, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Oman are observed observing the exercise.