Turkey-led mine warfare exercise NUSRET 2021 kicks off

The Nusret 2021 Invitation Exercise, hosted by Turkey, got underway on Tuesday in the Gulf of Saros in the northern Aegean Sea.

The exercise is attended by the NATO Mine Countermeasures Group-2, the NATO Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), the NATO Mine Warfare Center of Excellence (NMW COE), and allied countries (including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Iraq, Libya, Oman, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Romania, and Tanzania).

Nusret 2021, which focuses on mine warfare and will last through Oct. 28, involves naval and air troops from NATO and Turkey, as well as marine and air units from the Coast Guard Command and observers from several countries.

Nusret 2021 exercise intends to teach participants in mine warfare planning and execution, as well as to improve interoperability among participating countries, according to Mine Squadron Commander Rear Admiral Refik Levent Tezcan at a press briefing.

He noted that the attention and involvement of friendly and allied countries demonstrate how this exercise strengthens our mutual cooperation and interoperability.

“In addition to mine countermeasures, operations will be conducted to protect forces from asymmetric elements that represent a serious threat to ships and air threats. Our unmanned aerial vehicles will assist with this task. Even one mine is enough to disable the ship. Mines are a highly effective weapon, and many countries continue to invest in this form of weapon, ” he added.

Nusret 2021 will be held in three stages.

• Force integration was carried out in the first phase, which is still ongoing. Currently, the participating troops are conducting in-port drills and command post exercises (CPX).
• The second phase will include mine laying and mine countermeasures activities.
• In the third and final phase, the attendants will perform hot wash up (a post-exercise evaluation meeting) and a port visit in Canakkale.

Check out Naval Library App to find out more about the specifications of the participating units.