Turkey hosts multinational Nusret-2026 naval drills to boost mine warfare coordination
Turkey will hold the Nusret-2026 invitation exercise from Oct 6-16, deploying about 20 ships, five aircraft and various unmanned systems alongside forces from several partner nations.
From October 6 to 16, Turkey will conduct the multinational Nusret-2026 invitation exercise in the Gulf of Izmir and near Karadeniz Ereğli, according to the Defense Ministry. The operation will involve roughly 20 ships, five aircraft and a suite of unmanned systems, drawing on assets from the Turkish Naval Forces, Air Force and Coast Guard Command. NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2, comprising German, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Turkish units, and the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group, with Bulgarian, Romanian and Turkish elements, will also participate.
Additional contributions include explosive-ordnance-disposal and autonomous-underwater-vehicle teams from the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Kuwait, Romania and Oman, while 32 military observers from various countries will monitor the event. Organisers state the drills are intended to enhance participants’ capabilities in planning, executing and evaluating mine-warfare operations and to boost interoperability for coordinated multinational missions. The exercises follow Turkey’s recent Sea Wolf-I/2026 drill, which involved 100 ships, 50 aircraft and 14,000 personnel across the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean.
Why it matters
The drills improve mine-warfare skills and joint coordination, bolstering maritime security in the region.
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