Fourteen
nations and about 2,000 forces will participate
in a major three-week submarine escape
and rescue exercise beginning Friday
in the Italian waters of the Gulf of
Taranto, according to NATO officials.
Submarines from Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey will be placed on the
bottom of sea, each with a full crew
onboard, and then rescued.
NATO’s
Sorbet Royal exercise, which takes place
every three years and started in the
early 1990s, will feature forces for
the first time from Russia, Ukraine and Israel. Italian, British and U.S. rescue
forces, together with specialist divers,
medical teams and support and salvage
ships from Canada, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United
Kingdom, will work
together on rescue and medical procedures.