NATO’s Mediterranean-focused anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise ‘Dynamic Manta’ got underway in late February. The exercise is aiming to demonstrate capability to deal with a range of underwater threats.
‘Dynamic Manta’ is one of three annual, high-end ASW exercises run by NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) across the Euro-Atlantic theatre. With ‘Dynamic Mongoose’ taking place in the North Atlantic and the ‘Merlin’ Playbook activity taking place in the Baltic Sea, the three exercises combine to hone NATO ASW capabilities and skills to meet the different geophysical and operational ASW challenges across the theatre.
For ‘Dynamic Manta 2025’ – which is running for two weeks, in waters off Sicily, Italy – six NATO submarines are participating in what a MARCOM statement said was “NATO’s most advanced submarine warfare exercise”, and the largest and most complex submarine exercise in the Mediterranean. Submarines are being provided by France, Greece, Italy, Türkiye, and the United States. In total, and drawn from nine NATO countries, 25 surface ships, submarines, and aircraft are involved. Aircraft include organic helicopters from the surface ships providing the rotary-wing capability, and fixed-wing capability in the form of maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs). Several of the surface ships are present as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), MARCOM’s Mediterranean-focused escort ship standing naval force and the task group at the hub of the exercise. Some of the MPAs will be flying out of Sigonella naval air station, Sicily.
Noting that the exercise is designed to prepare NATO submarine crews to respond to any type of underwater threat including conventional ASW threats and emerging challenges, MARCOM added: “‘Dynamic Manta’ builds on the success of previous iterations, incorporating new tactics, technologies, and operational insights, ensuring NATO’s forces remain at the forefront of undersea warfare.”
“Exercises like ‘Dynamic Manta’ help NATO maintain the edge when it comes to ASW,” Rear Admiral Bret Grabbe – a US Navy officer posted as Commander Submarines, NATO (COMSUBNATO), and with responsibility for exercise operational control – said in the statement. He underscored the crucial role played by ASW in maintaining secure access to strategic waterways.
Across the variety of serials designed to enhance interoperability and proficiency in a range of submarine warfare tasks, exercise highlights include conducting covert insertion of special operations forces – a combined capability the MARCOM statement noted as a “force multiplier for NATO” – plus close co-ordination between air, surface, and sub-surface domain platforms as the submarines take turns as the hunter and the hunted.
Amongst the assembled submarines, the fact that nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) are present alongside diesel-electric boats (SSKs) enables NATO’s ASW capability and skills sets to be tested against both types of threat submarines operating in the region.
by Dr. Lee Willet, London
