The first phase of the ” Mare Aperto 22-2″, the largest exercise of the Italian Navy which, in this second edition of the year, involves forces belonging to 5 NATO nations, 48 units including ships, submarines, aircraft and helicopters, together with amphibious departments of the San Marco Marine Brigade, commandos and divers of COMSUBIN and with the involvement of the Italian Army, the Air Force and various realities of the interinstitutional and interagency context including the Center for International Studies (Ce.S.I.), the Center for Geopolitics and Maritime Strategy (CESMAR) and the Corps of Volunteer Nurses of the Italian Red Cross, for a total of about 4,000 soldiers operating at sea and from the sea, by air and on land.
The activities carried out in this first phase have allowed the achievement of an excellent level of capacity in the various sectors of maritime operations in a multi-domain perspective. Numerous exercises, also with artillery and weapons of different calibers, carried out both by the ships and by the departments of the San Marco Marine Brigade operating on land.
From today the second phase, the so-called “tactics” starts. In a scenario designed in continuity with the previous edition, the forces organized in “opposing parties” will have to act to achieve the objectives set by the direction of the exercise led by the Commander in Chief of the Naval Squadron embarked with his staff on the aircraft carrier Cavour.
The training activities, planned and conducted to give the entire Open Sea maximum realism and the widest training effectiveness, are carried out in close synergy with the broader Maneuver Scheme that the Navy is implementing to fulfill its institutional tasks in the wide region of the Enlarged Mediterranean, with particular attention to the protection of national interests through the surveillance of vital areas for the country, maritime surveillance of sensitive targets, monitoring of the seabed and safeguarding freedom of navigation on the high seas.
Over 50 university students from some national universities such as the University of Bari, the University Alma Mater Studiorum of Bologna, the University of Catania, the University of Genoa, the State University of Milan, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, the Polytechnic of Milan, the Federico II University of Naples, the Sant’Anna University of Pisa, the La Sapienza University of Rome, the Free International University of Social Studies (LUISS) of Rome, the University for Foreigners of Siena and the University of Trieste which – under the guidance and supervision of experienced personnel in the various areas – are involved in the operational staff on board the naval units as political consultants, legal consultants and public information officers.
The exercise will end on October 27th.
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