Royal Navy personnel have joined forces with NATO allies in a major coalition exercise designed to help Ukraine make the Black Sea safe once again.
The United States Navy and Ukrainian led training, known as Exercise Sea Breeze, is being hosted by the United Kingdom in Portland this year, bringing together 15 nations to practise and develop techniques for dealing with the latest underwater threats plaguing Black Sea waters.
The mine countermeasure exercise brings together a formidable range of capabilities, including Mine Countermeasure Vessels conducting mine hunting operations, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, dive and salvage operations, uncrewed underwater vehicles and uncrewed surface vessels, reflecting the sophisticated, multi-layered approach needed to counter modern maritime threats.
Ukraine’s participation is led by five of its own minehunters, which made the short journey from Portsmouth to Portland for the exercise: Chernihiv and Cherkasy, both former Royal Navy Sandown class vessels, and Mariupol, Melitopol and Henichesk, Alkmaar class ships originally built for the Belgian and Dutch Navies.
For the 2026 iteration of Sea Breeze, the UK and US are joined by a French Navy Tripartite class minesweeper and its crew, along with personnel from Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Japan, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Spain and Norway. In total, some 2,500 personnel from across NATO and its allies are taking part in this year’s exercise.
Running since 1997, Sea Breeze has consistently brought Black Sea nations, NATO allies and partners together to train and operate alongside NATO members in pursuit of ever greater capability and readiness.
As host on behalf of Ukraine, the UK’s support for Sea Breeze forms just one strand of the Armed Forces’ ongoing commitment to standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its just fight against Russian aggression and invasion. Since its inception, 63,000 Ukrainians have completed Interflex training, including 11,000 military instructors, delivering a vital boost to Ukraine’s own training system and reinforcing its ability to defend its people and its waters for years to come.
Images: MOD Crown Copyright News / Editorial Licence.
