Istanbul: The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced today the launch of the Nusret 2025 exercise in the Aegean Sea, with the participation of naval forces from five countries and observers from 19 countries.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated in a post on the Turkish “In Social” platform that the exercise aims to train participating units and commands in the planning, implementation, and evaluation stages of mine warfare. The exercise also seeks to enhance interoperability among participating mine warfare units from various countries.

The Ministry explained that the exercise will include training on naval mine disposal procedures. This training is in preparation for potential missions related to removing floating mines in the Black Sea and clearing mines anchored there following the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The maneuvers involve five mine hunting vessels, a command and control vessel, several frigates, attack boats, search and rescue vessels, three patrol vessels, four Coast Guard vessels, attack helicopters, drones, F-16 fighter jets, a C-130 cargo plane, and two underwater defense teams. The naval maneuvers are scheduled to continue until the 31st of this month.