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News | Dec. 2, 2020

Saudi, UK, U.S. Naval Forces Conduct Mine Countermeasures Training

By Courtesy Story U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet  

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN   –  

Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), Royal Navy and U.S. Navy forces participated in mine countermeasures (MCM) interoperability training in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 9-12.

ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 11, 2020) Royal Saudi Naval Force mine countermeasures vessel Shaqra (422), left, mine countermeasure ship USS Dextrous (MCM 13), middle, Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel HMS Brocklesby (M 33) and a MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, sail in formation during mine countermeasures interoperability training, led by Commander, Task Force (CTF) 52 in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 11. CTF 52 provides command and control of all mine warfare assets in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of Yemen. (U.S Army photo by Spc. William Gore)
ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 11, 2020) Royal Saudi Naval Force mine countermeasures vessel Shaqra (422), left, mine countermeasure ship USS Dextrous (MCM 13), middle, Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel HMS Brocklesby (M 33) and a MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, sail in formation during mine countermeasures interoperability training, led by Commander, Task Force (CTF) 52 in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 11. CTF 52 provides command and control of all mine warfare assets in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of Yemen. (U.S Army photo by Spc. William Gore)
ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 11, 2020) Royal Saudi Naval Force mine countermeasures vessel Shaqra (422), left, mine countermeasure ship USS Dextrous (MCM 13), middle, Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel HMS Brocklesby (M 33) and a MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, sail in formation during mine countermeasures interoperability training, led by Commander, Task Force (CTF) 52 in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 11. CTF 52 provides command and control of all mine warfare assets in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of Yemen. (U.S Army photo by Spc. William Gore)
Saudi, UK, U.S. Naval Forces Conduct Mine Countermeasures Training
ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 11, 2020) Royal Saudi Naval Force mine countermeasures vessel Shaqra (422), left, mine countermeasure ship USS Dextrous (MCM 13), middle, Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel HMS Brocklesby (M 33) and a MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, sail in formation during mine countermeasures interoperability training, led by Commander, Task Force (CTF) 52 in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 11. CTF 52 provides command and control of all mine warfare assets in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. The 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of Yemen. (U.S Army photo by Spc. William Gore)
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Photo By: Spc. William Gore
VIRIN: 201111-A-RX269-1598B

The training follows a previous iteration that took place in June, and focused on enhancing mine hunting and communications interoperability between the three navies.

"This second round of training allowed us to refine our MCM procedures as a combined team,” said UK Royal Navy Captain Don Crosbie, deputy commander of Task Force 52. “Building cohesion is the best way to continuously increase our defensive capabilities as a coalition.”

Participating mine countermeasures ships included the RSNF Al-Shaqra (MCMV 422), UK Royal Navy HMS Brockelsby (M 33) and U.S. Navy USS Dextrous (MCM 13). A MH-53E Sea Dragon attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 provided aerial mine hunting support.

In addition to these forces at sea, the RSNF Mine Warfare Center provided command and control from King Abdulaziz Naval Base in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet, visit www.cusnc.navy.mil/