13 countries will participate in the exercise, which will be held for the seventeenth time this year.
In the statement made on the Twitter account of the US Naval Forces Europe and Africa Command, it was stated that the exercise, which will be held for the 17th time this year, will take place between May 23 and June 3, 2022 in Tunisia and in the entire Mediterranean.
“The exercise focuses on regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and operational capabilities, enhancing efforts to promote safety and security in the Mediterranean Sea and territorial waters of participating North African nations.” the statement included.
NEWS: The 17th iteration of exercise #PhoenixExpress 2022 kicks off next week with 13 nations scheduled to participate: 🇩🇿🇧🇪🇪🇬🇬🇷🇮🇹🇱🇾🇲🇹🇲🇷🇲🇦🇪🇸🇹🇳🇬🇧🇺🇸.
Read ➡️: https://t.co/wAMDigxQhP pic.twitter.com/DhPNOvsJkl
— U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet (@USNavyEurope) May 21, 2022
Algeria, Belgium, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and the United States will participate in the exercise. “Tunisia regularly demonstrates their commitment and willingness to partner with the U.S. in our shared vision of peace and maritime stability in North Africa and the surrounding Mediterranean waters” said Admiral Robert Burke, Commander of the U.S. Navy Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces.
In the statement of the US Navy Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command located in Napoli included, “In the last six months, aircraft from the Harry S. Truman carrier task group have flown with Tunisian aircraft to provide mission training at range, and US Navy ships, Tunisian Navy and acted together in bilateral exercises. Phoenix Express is another opportunity to continue improving our partnership and readiness with Tunisia by training together.”
In the continuation of the statements, regarding the exercise: “The exercise, which will be held at La Goulette Naval Base in Tunisia, will include a five-day maritime security training in the Mediterranean, in addition to the in-port preparation phase. The naval portion of the exercise will test the ability of the North African, European and US Navy to respond to irregular immigration and combat illegal smuggling and the illegal movement of goods and supplies.” were also added.
