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Written by Piero Messina
In recent days the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower passed the Strait of Gibraltar and is heading to the eastern Mediterranean. In that strategic area both for the conflict in Israel and for what is happening in Ukraine, we will find ourselves in the presence of the largest concentration of NATO ships in operational order for several decades. At least 43 boats will be deployed, excluding submarines, which are certainly present in the scenario but whose number cannot be known.
But in reality naval battle deployment is potentially much more invasive. From 23 October to 6 November, the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) Dynamic Mariner 23 exercises will be held in Italian waters: the naval forces deployed include another 30 ships, including the Cavour, belonging to 14 NATO member nations. These exercises are very important for Italy because in 2024 the Italian Navy will be in charge of the NATO Response Force Maritime element (NRF/M).
Led by NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), the exercise is vital training for the Italian Navy, as it prepares to take over the NATO Response Force Maritime element (NRF/M) from Türkiye in 2024. The NRF is a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force that comprises land, air, maritime and Special Operations Force components which the Alliance can deploy quickly, whenever and wherever needed.
Participants in Exercise Dynamic Mariner will engage in a wide range of training activities, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, amphibious operations, mine countermeasures, boarding exercises, choke point transit and critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) protection operations. Capabilities will be tested across multiple domains – air, land and sea, as well as the asymmetric battlespace including cyber warfare.
The exercise will feature a diverse range of naval assets – approximately 30 warships including an Italian aircraft carrier, submarines, helicopters and aircraft, including Harriers and F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, as well as more than 6,000 troops, staff officers and observers from a total of 14 Allied nations – Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.
