For first time, France and Cyprus join Israel’s Noble Dina naval drill
By: Seth J. Frantzman , Defense News , 03/12/21
The 2021 version of Noble Dina featured six ships, including submarines. (Courtesy of the Israel Defense Forces) JERUSALEM — France and Cyprus for the first time have joined the Israeli Navy-led Noble Dina naval exercise , which takes place annually but was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The exercise series, which this year took place March 7-12 in waters
west of Cyprus, previously included counterterrorism scenarios and
drills to protect ports. This year, as in the past, ships practiced
anti-submarine procedures. The navies also conducted search-and-rescue
scenarios as well as a drill simulating battle between ships, the Israel
Defense Forces said.
Israel sent a submarine and the INS Romach, a Sa’ar 4.5-class missile
boat housing anti-submarine systems. In total, Greece, France, Cyprus
and Israel sent six ships, including submarines.
Israeli submarine taking part in the Noble Dina joint military drill between Israel,
Greece, Cyprus and France, March 12, 2021. (Credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S
UNIT)
Israel recently took delivery of the Sa’ar 6 warship
to improve the country’s defenses of its exclusive economic zone, but
the vessel was not in attendance because it is still being outfitted.
The last year saw tension between Greece and Turkey in the Mediterranean
Sea, as well as increased strain between Israel and Iran after an
Israeli-owned ship was attacked near the Gulf of Oman. Israel accused
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of attaching an explosive device to the cargo
vessel Helios Ray on Feb. 25 as it traveled from Saudi Arabia to
Singapore. Iran has denied the allegation.
In addition, more than 1,000 tons of tar are estimated to have washed
onto Israel’s Mediterranean coastline last month, causing extensive
environmental damage and forcing the closure of beaches to the public.
Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority called the incident one of Israel’s
worst environmental disasters, with the clean-up expected to take
months. On March 3, the Environmental Protection Ministry identified the
ship it believed was responsible for the Feb. 1 oil spill as the the
Panama-flagged, formerly Libyan-owned tanker named Emerald.
An Israeli submarine in the annual Noble Dina naval exercise for 2021, coordinated between Israel, Greece, Cyprus and France, March 12, 2021. (Credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) Israel’s environmental protection minister has described the oil spill
as an intentional attack by Iran. However, the Israel Defense Forces
would not comment on the ongoing investigation, and Iranian officials
have not publicly acknowledged the allegation.
Noble Dina is designed to strengthen cooperation among participating
navies and enrich their repository of operational knowledge, Israel
says. Lt. Cmdr. Amichai Rachamim, head of exercises for the Israeli
Navy, emphasized the importance of having surface vessels as well as
helicopters and air force assets from participants.
“It is focused not only on surface exercises but also multi-threat
exercise of air and underwater and surface threats,” he said. “The main
task is to combine and cooperate multinationally against the threats and
practice our forces and ships in answering these threats and building
the cooperation against these threats.
“The Cyprus and Hellenic navies that are close to us are our neighbors
at sea. It is important to practice with them as well as with the French
and U.S. Navy, which act in the Mediterranean.”
Israel recently announced that its naval personnel and most of its
armed forces have been vaccinated against COVID-19, a development that
helped enable the exercise this year.
Israel, Greece and Cyprus signed a deal to build a gas pipeline in the
East Mediterranean last year, and a new subsea cable is also undergoing
construction. The naval officer would not say if defending these future
energy assets was a particular part of this drill. “When we talk about
national assets, whether Israel or Cyprus, [we] can see the importance
or main mission of the navies is to defend national assets, defending
those in the EEZ, and of course for us that is something that is
important,” he said.
Israel recently improved diplomatic relations with the United Arab
Emirates and Egypt, among other regional countries, but neither the UAE
nor Egypt participated this year in the naval drill. Rachamim said
Israel sees those nations as “partners, and we see opportunities to act
with them. I believe we will see [their future participation], but not
in this one this year. We believe in the future we will see more
cooperation with more countries.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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