Ukrainian and NATO ships carry out military exercises in the Black Sea
The Ukrainian Navy, standing NATO maritime group and standing NATO mine countermeasures group carried out PASSEX joint military exercises in the Black Sea, reported Ukraine Naval Command’s press service. The goal of the training was to improve interoperability and to practice interaction as part of multinational tactical units in accordance with NATO standards.
Three tactical groups took part in the maneuvers: multi-purpose ships, mine countermeasures ships and gunboats.
At the beginning of the exercises, all forces carried out tactical maneuvering. After that, the De Ruyter frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy, Romania’s Regele Ferdinand cruisers, Turkish Fatih boats and the Hetman Sahaydachniy frigate from the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted drills with the Ukrainian boat tactical groups.
“The goal of the first group was to repel small high-speed targets while the second group simulated artillery attacks against combat units of the multi-purpose ships,” the statement reads. PASSEX training also included search and identification of anchored and bottom mines, as well as their neutralization by diver groups.