Navies of US, Greece, and Israel finish joint exercise

The Jewish Press reported that the Navies of the US, Greece, and Israel recently finished a joint naval exercise named Nobel Dina.

The Israeli contribution to the exercise included the INS Keshet & INS Lahav missiles ships, Sa’ar 5 & Sa’ar 4.5 missile frigates and two Dolphin-class submarines.

In addition, an Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, Ya’asur combat helicopters with soldiers from the IDF 669 search and rescue unit, AS565 MA Panther (Atalef) helicopters and Shoval drones from the IAF 200th Squadron participated in the drill as well.

According to a spokesperson, the exercise is an important training exercise that helps teach the navy how to deal with the various challenges of keeping open maritime routes to Israel in times of war.

According to one source, a major focus of the exercise was anti-submarine warfare which is “inherently difficult owing to the aspect of the common language between the participating forces, which in our case necessitated a two-month long preparatory process. The warfighters studied NATO’s international MTP language for joint exercises and practiced the exercise scenarios on simulators. Additionally, the IDF Navy invests in the presentability of the vessels in anticipation of the exercise.”

The drill began in Crete where exercises were carried out, followed by a week at sea. The flotilla then arrived in Haifa where further exercises were held.

Alongside the Israeli contribution, the Hellenic Navy assigned two submarines and a warship to the exercise, and the U.S. Navy sent a P-8 Poseidon ASW aircraft.