North Atlantic Ocean Strategy:NATO'S Dynamic Mongoose 22

NATO has announced that an iteration of its premier anti-submarine warfare drills,Dynamic Mongoose 22,will commence on 13 June.Maritime forces from nine NATO Allies will take part:Canada,Denmark,France,Germany,the Netherlands,Norway,Portugal,the UK and the US.Vessels will include three submarines;11 surface warships;and 16 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.The annual wargames provide complex,realistic and challenging warfighting drills to enhance proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare disciplines in a context of safe operations.Submarines will take turns hunting and being hunted in coordination with air and surface combatants.The exercise will also demonstrate the readiness and mobility of the maritime element of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF),the spearhead of the NATO Response Force.According to Commander,Submarines NATO,Rear Admiral Stephen Mack,USN,the drils will enhance teamwork and improve knowledge of the operating area,the expansive waters of the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap between Iceland and Norway.* The maritime warfighters will practise Anti-Access/Area Denial operations in the GIUK Gap,flexing critical skills at closing the Gap to naval forces from adversaries such as Russia and China.Indeed,the NATO maritime forces had assembled at Reykjavik,Iceland on 9 June.The exercise will thus consist of conducting sea control/sea denial-related naval tasks in preparation for future collective defence and crisis response operations,NATO noted.*