Displaying the ability to conduct integrated ASW command across NATO ’s entire area of responsibility (AOR), the two separate exercises – ‘Dynamic Mongoose’ and ‘Neptune Strike’ – are also underway in two different regions, one on each of the alliance’s maritime flanks. ‘Dynamic Mongoose’ is taking place off Norway, while ‘Neptune Strike’ is underway in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
The ASW components of both exercises are being conducted by Commander, Submarines NATO (COMSUBNATO), a post dual-hatted as the NATO ASW Commander.
“My staff is conducting ‘Dynamic Mongoose’ and ‘Neptune Strike’ in two different areas of the AOR, all at the same time,” Rear Admiral Thomas Wall, COMSUBNATO, told Naval News in Stavanger, Norway on 29 April as ‘Dynamic Mongoose’ got underway.
“Being able to command two ASW activities across the entire AOR at the same time provides assurance to the NATO countries. Furthermore, showing we can do that during multiple exercises becomes a deterrent,”
Rear Admiral Thomas Wall, COMSUBNATO
The deterrent messaging demonstrated by the integrated ASW command capacity is particularly significant, Rear Adm Wall explained. “It makes the adversary understand that NATO has depth in this capability, and that the alliance can [fight on] more than one battlefield at the same time,” he said.
‘Dynamic Mongoose’ – NATO’s annual North Atlantic-based ASW exercise – is occurring for two weeks in late April and early May, in the Norwegian Sea between Norway and Iceland. The exercise consists of integrated maritime aviation, surface ship, and submarine ASW activities. Led by Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), it is based around Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), which is commanded currently by the Spanish Navy with its F-100 Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbon deployed as flagship.
‘Neptune Strike’ – the alliance’s integrated carrier strike group (CSG) exercise – takes place at various locations across the alliance’s AOR, being conducted several times each year. On this occasion, ‘NEST 24.1’ is covering the Eastern Mediterranean and Baltic Sea regions, also running across two weeks from late April to early May. Led by Striking and Support Forces NATO (SFN), this latest ‘NEST’ exercise involves three carriers, including the French Navy’s FS Charles De Gaulle CSG.
In a press briefing onboard Almirante Juan de Borbon prior to the ship getting underway for ‘Dynamic Mongoose’, Rear Adm Wall explained that – as part of both reinforcing NATO’s trans-Atlantic commitment and demonstrating the alliance’s advanced maritime capabilities – conducting the two separate exercises concurrently underscored NATO’s ability to operate across the entire AOR, and to generate deterrence and defence both at and from the sea. “To be able to hold these complex exercises at the same time shows the capability and determination of allied forces, as one unified team, dedicated to our collective defence,” said Rear Adm Wall.
For ‘Dynamic Mongoose’, five submarines are arrayed against seven destroyers, frigates, and patrol vessels, operating within or alongside SNMG1, plus maritime patrol aircraft from six countries. The submarines will practice both hunting and being hunted.
For ‘Neptune Strike’, an ASW component is being conducted, as part of the task of protecting the CSGs. Here, a submarine will be used to both defend and target the carriers.
At the strategic and operational levels, Rear Adm Wall underscored the core benefits of demonstrating the command capacity and capability to conduct separate but concurrent ASW operations across NATO’s AOR.
“Assurance and deterrence are the keys,” the admiral told Naval News.
“In the real-world environment, you’re never going to have an activity that’s isolated to one location, where you can only focus on that one event, that one battlefield,” he said. “Realistically, you’re going to have to focus across the entire AOR, whether it’s where the direct conflict is going on or whether it’s where the enablement, logistics, or re-supply need to come in.”
On top of the assurance and deterrence elements is the importance of developing and demonstrating depth in capacity and capability. Such depth is being underlined by conducting the two separate ASW activities in two different regions under a single command organisation, Rear Adm Wall explained. “Even though quick strike is important, depth is also important,” he added.
Watch our video coverage of Dynamic Mongoose 2024:
