Some 40 vessels from 7 countries gathered in the port of Cagliari to take part in the annual, Italian-hosted exercise Mare Aperto 2017.
Starting Monday, May 8, navy ships from France, Spain, Canada, Poland, Portugal, Turkey and Italy will spend two weeks honing their skills in mine countermeasures and anti-air warfare.
The exercise will be led by the Italian Navy’s biggest ships, aircraft carriers ITS Cavour and ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi and joined by transport docks ITS San Giorgio and ITS San Marco and two Torado-class submarines.
NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasure Group 2 (SNMCMG2) is also taking part in the exercise led by the group flagship, the Polish Navy MCM command ship (511), ORP Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki.
SNMCMG2 has been led by ORP Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki since January, 2017, when command of the group changed hands from Greece to Poland. SNMCMG2 is currently composed of ships from Germany, Spain, Poland and Turkey.