U.S.-Saudi Bi-Lateral Maritime Exercise Begins

Photo By Chief Petty Officer Kory Alsberry | JUBAIL, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 200223-N-JO908-1073 Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Andrew Davies, assigned to Commander Task Force 56, guides Rear Adm. Majed Haz'z Al-Kahtani, Deputy Commander, Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) Eastern Fleet, on how to operate a Mark VI patrol boat during an underway as part of exercise Nautical Defender 20 in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Feb. 23. ND is a bilateral maritime exercise between the U.S. Navy and the RSNF designed to build and sustain warfighting capabilities, support long term regional security and enhance military-to-military interoperability with the U.S. and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kory Alsberry)  

JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA

02.26.2020

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kory Alsberry 

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet           

The U.S. Navy and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) are participating in exercise Nautical Defender 20 (ND 20), Feb. 23-27.

ND is a bilateral maritime exercise designed to build and sustain combined warfighting capabilities, support long term regional security and enhance military-to-military interoperability between the U.S. and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“Capstone exercises like Nautical Defender allow us to combine key combat enablers such as maritime infrastructure protection, maritime interdiction operations, and mine-counter-measures into a complex and realistic event driven scenario across several days. This type of comprehensive exercise challenges our planners and recognizes the increasing capabilities of our regional partners. It also recognizes Royal Saudi Naval Forces operational commitments and enables us to pool our resources to create a truly challenging and realistic environment in which to train together.” said Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, commander, Naval Forces Central Command. “To make training like this effective, we must normalize procedural interoperability across all warfare areas, assessing against a common baseline for proficiency and leveraging systems compatibility across multiple platforms.”

This is one of many exercises in which the U.S. military participates with partner nations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility each year. For more information, contact U.S. Naval Forces Central Command at (973) 1785-3252.”

• Date Taken: 02.26.2020
• Date Posted: 02.26.2020 05:39
• Story ID: 363906
• Location: JUBAIL, SA