Two Spanish Navy vessels are currently sailing towards Sicily, Italy to take part in exercise Dynamic Malta 16, says the Navy.
The French-design Galerna-class submarine Mistral (S-73) and the lead ship frigate Santa María (F-81) will integrate into a naval task group and participate in NATO’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise which will take place in the Ionian Sea from February 19 to March 4.
The purpose of Dynamic Malta is to test all levels of NATO’s ASW readiness. For added realism, this international exercise will be conducted in a fictitious crisis scenario. Throughout the exercise, all command, control, communication and interoperability of participating units will be put to the test.
Maritime patrol aircraft, submarine and surface ships as well as helicopters from Italy, USA, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Greece and Turkey will participate in the exercise.
Spain contributes with a P-3C MPA, the submarine Mistral and the frigate Santa María which will operate under the operational command of COMSUBNATO (Commander, Submarine Forces, NATO).
The Mistral is homeported in Cartagena, Spain and has a crew of 66 people, is the third Galerna-class submarine delivered to the Spanish Navy in June 1985.
The Santa María (F-81) is the first FFG frigate of a series of six, based on the Oliver Hazard Perry design. Built in Ferrol, Spain, and commissioned in October 1986, the ship has a complement of 190 and her home port is Rota Naval Base.
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