"US Navy Europe and the Ukrainian navy kicked off Sea Breeze 2021 in the Black Sea with the largest number of participants in the exercise’s 21 iterations." US Department of Defence said yesterday. HMS Trent from Royal Navy, USS Ross from US Navy, comprises 32 participant countries with overall 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 aircraft, and 18 special operations and dive teams. The exercise comes just days after a clash between the Royal Navy and Russian forces.
Exercise Sea Breeze is a multinational maritime exercise co-hosted by US Sixth Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy in the Black Sea since 1997. The US Navy stated that naval military exercise will last for 12 days and include “amphibious warfare, land manoeuvre warfare, diving operations, maritime interception operations, air defence, special operations integration, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue operations.
Sea Breeze 2021 is designed to enhance the interoperability of participating nations and strengthen maritime security and peace within the region. The exercise scenario designed to bring together military forces from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia to test multiple warfare disciplines in the sea, on land, and up in the air, including surface warfare, land operations, anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and explosive ordnance disposal techniques.This exercise is a previously planned annual exercise. 2021 will mark the 21st iteration of exercise Sea Breeze. The continuation of this exercise program is a visible demonstration of our enduring commitment to work closely with our NATO Allied and partner nations to enhance maritime security in the Black Sea.
US Navy sent its Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) to participate in the Exercise (SB21). Ross is one of four US Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and assigned to Commander, Task Force 65 in support of NATO’s Integrated Air Missile Defense architecture. These Forward-Deployed Naval Forces-Europe ships have the flexibility to operate throughout the waters of Europe and Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Arctic Circle, demonstrating their mastery of the maritime domain.
Portsmouth-based patrol HMS Trent entered the region as part of her latest mission to the Black Sea. The vessel is one of the newest warships to enter the British fleet. It can tackle anything from drug smuggling gangs and pirates to taking on terror groups and transporting special forces troops. The ship completed her first trip to the Black Sea earlier this month, carrying out drills with Ukrainian forces.
US, Ukraine, Britain, Israel, Albania, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Spain, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates attend to the exercise.
