Defending the Northern Flank:Dynamic Mongoose 2023

NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose 2023 opens on 24 April and runs until 4 May.Iceland is the primary host nation.Other participants include Canada,Denmark and the Faroe Islands,France,Germany,the Netherlands,Norway,Poland,Portugal,Spain,the UK and the US.The drills will take place in the waters between Norway,the Faroe Islands and Iceland,the expansive waters of the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap (GIUK).Thus they will demonstrate NATO's ability to operate in the area,maintaining freedom of navigation for the international maritime community.The exercise contributes to the security,stability and NATO's situational awareness in the North Atlantic.The high-tempo training will include dynamic scenarios to test all units' ability to confront any threat in the subsurface domain-skills that are inreasingly relevant as the Alliance continues to adapt to new security challenges,according to NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood,UK.* Taking part in the drills will be 14 warships,4 submarines and 6 aircraft.Airbases across the region will host the Maritime Patrol Aircraft.The vessels will venture into Faroe Islands waters and may dock at Faroe Islands ports.The Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.They are located 320 km/200 mi north-northwest of the UK,or halfway between Norway and Iceland.The purpose of the exercise is to hone NATO's ability to counter the threat posed by adversary submarines approaching NATO's Northern Flank.It will also include Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW) Tactics,Techniques and Procedures (TTPs).The drills demonstrate the readiness and mobility of the maritime component of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF),the spearhead of the NATO Response Force (NRF).* The Faroe Islands have a population of 54,000 (2022).There is some difficult,rocky terrain found among the 18 major islands.Denmark handles their defence and foreign affairs,but the Faroe Islands,a parliamentary democracy,negotiate their own trade deals.They do not belong to the EU.They have their own flag and national anthem.* During the course of Dynamic Mongoose,naval officers will stand watch in the combat information centre,observing and coordinating battle group actions as the submarines and warships take turns hunting and being hunted.*