Intrinsic Defender: Israel, US launch two-week joint naval drill – Defense News

The Israeli Navy and the US fifth Fleet on Sunday kicked off their annual joint maritime train at a ceremony in Haifa.

Dubbed Intrinsic Defender, the two-week joint drill is centered on boosting operational readiness and navy-to-navy cooperation.

As a part of this, the 2 navies will follow numerous naval maneuvers and eventualities, corresponding to vessel inspections, maritime surveillance, boarding procedures, underwater constructions, search and rescue, and mine countermeasures. 

Troopers may also drill for underwater missions, together with joint diving, utilizing unmanned underwater autos, and finishing up sabotage missions. 

“Israel is one in every of our most succesful maritime companions and these workouts additional underscore historic navy cooperation achieved in recent times,” mentioned V.-Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US fifth Fleet, and Mixed Maritime Forces. 

“Coaching and working collectively strengthen regional maritime safety and stability.”

Israel-US naval navy cooperation

Intrinsic Defender follows the final joint naval drill, held again in March 2022, which centered on maritime safety, explosive ordinance disposal, and unmanned techniques integration.

Nevertheless, additionally it is one in every of a number of joint workouts the US and Israel have carried out collectively since Israel joined US Central Command (CENTCOM) in September 2021. 

Since then, the US and Israeli navies have carried out 18 totally different joint navy workouts each with one another and with different nations. As well as, US and Israeli naval forces have held joint patrols within the Gulf of Aqaba, Purple Sea, and Gulf of Aden.