Bulgaria hosted annual Breeze-2020 exercises has kicked off last week with the participation of 27 vessels, 9 aircraft, and 2,413 sailors from ten countries (Bulgaria, Belgium, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Romania, US, Turkey, and France).
The USS Porter which entered the Black Sea last week, also takes part in the exercise alongside its NATO allies.
Breeze 2020 will improve the military readiness of all participants and enhance the tactical interoperability of participating naval units and staffs in conducting conventional and non-conventional warfare procedures.
“Exercise Breeze 20 is critical to strengthening relationships with NATO allies and partners in the Black Sea.” said Capt. William C. Pennington Jr., commodore of Combined Task Force-67. “Complex exercises such as Breeze, provide an excellent opportunity for U.S. 6th Fleet (C6F) maritime patrol squadrons to increase their operational proficiency and communication interoperability, while conducting combined maritime patrols. Our strong relationship continues to grow with the Bulgarian Navy and other partner nations participating in Breeze, and we look forward to future opportunities to operate together.”
This is the 24th iteration of the annual exercise, which routinely focuses on assessing multi-national partners’ interoperability and ability to conduct regional maritime security operations in the Black Sea, as well as providing a platform for evaluation of Bulgarian Navy units.
The exercise will last until July 19.
