NATO Conducts Mine Countermeasures Exercises Off Turkish Coasts

Turkey announced it will host the NATO-affiliated international Nusret mine countermeasures exercises from October 6 to 16 in the Aegean and Black Seas, with observers including representatives from Ukraine.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense told "Novosti" agency: "The Nusret-2026 exercises will be held in Izmir Bay and the Eregli area on the Black Sea from October 6 to 16 with the participation of Turkey and allied countries.

On the Turkish side, naval, air force, and coast guard commands will participate in the drills."

It added that the goal of the training is to enhance units' capabilities in planning, executing, and evaluating the results of mine warfare operations, as well as improving operational interoperability of mine countermeasure units in several countries and strengthening their ability to conduct coordinated multinational operations.

The exercises are expected to involve ships from NATO's Standing Mine Countermeasures Group (SNMCMG-2) from Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Greece; ships from the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group (MCM Blacksea) from Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania; and engineering teams and autonomous submarine experts from the United States and other countries. A total of 20 ships and 5 aircraft will participate in the drills.

Thirty-two representatives from 18 countries will attend the exercises as observers, including Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Last year, there were 44 observers, none of whom were Ukrainian representatives.