Turkey to Host Drills in Mediterranean With US Participation (PHOTOS)

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey will conduct military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean on September 28 – October 7 with the participation of the United States, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Algeria, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania and Saudi Arabia, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

"On September 28 – October 7, the Mavi Balina-2018 military exercise, hosted by Turkey and participated by the country's naval and air forces together with NATO, the United States, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Algeria, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Romania and Saudi Arabia, will take place in the eastern Mediterranean. The goal of the exercises is anti-submarine defense training. Four Turkish frigates, five submarines, two corvettes, a logistics support ship, three aircraft and six helicopters will participate in the drills," the statement read.

Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığının “Mavi Balina 2018” Davet Tatbikatı 28 Eylül — 6 Ekim 2018 tarihleri arasında Akdeniz’de; NATO, ABD, Pakistan, Romanya ve Azerbaycan unsurlarının katılımı ile icra edilecek… pic.twitter.com/OGKEds3oYe

— Bahriye (@Bahriye1773) 24 сентября 2018 г.

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The purpose of the exercises is to teach the actual actions for anti-submarine defense. Similar military exercises Turkey have been conducted over the past few years with the participation of its allies.