After leaving Turkey's Aksaz Naval Base on 18 June, two units of the Turkish Navy were joined by the Italian flagship frigate Fasan and the Turkish frigate Salihreis for a maneuvering and communication exercise south of the Turkish port. The training was conducted with the Turkish frigate Orucreis and the Gurbet patrol boat.

Another maneuvering and contact exercise, with the Hellenic Navy frigate Kountouriotis, took place in the Aegean Sea near Crete the next day, 19 June.

Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), which had been under Italian command since December 2019, now consists of two frigates: the Italian flagship FREMM-class frigate Fasan and the Turkish frigate Salihreis Barbaros. Group command is set to shift next week.

“The exercises that we are conducting since the beginning of our deployment with the Allied navies of Greece and Turkey, have allowed us to maintain our readiness at sea, as well as our interoperability between multinational forces. We are continuously working to demonstrate our Allies and adversaries, that despite the recent pandemic, NATO forces at sea have maintained and continuously improved their capabilities. These two days allowed me also to address a special farewell to both navies that have provided me with largest number of training events,” stated Rear Admiral Paolo Fantoni, Commander of SNMG2.

Maritime Business World