11th Exercise Cutlass Express 2022 |18 February 2022

Joint naval training exercise a success

By Roland Duval

Designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity and promote national and regional security in East Africa and also to increase interoperability between the United States, Africa, and international partners, the exercise Cutlass Express 2022 successfully ended yesterday.

Launched on February 7, the exercise, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (Africom) and conducted by the US Naval Forces Africa (Navaf), is the largest naval training exercise in the Indian Ocean, aimed at bringing together US forces and regional partners to share their expertise and experience.

During the training, the participating nations tested their ability to detect or disrupt illicit trafficking, piracy, illegal fishing, as well as search and rescue situations.

The 11th Cutlass Express exercise began with an in-port training period, a senior leadership symposium, followed by at-sea scenarios, where ships’ abilities were tested in the conduct of maritime interdiction operations (MIO) by boarding teams against simulated suspect vessels, detection of illicit activity, and follow-on evidence collection procedures.

During the last day of at-sea scenarios yesterday, MIO by Seychellois, Mauritian and Comorian boarding teams were carried out, with the support of Seychelles Coast Guard ships Le Vigilant and Etoile, while several guests, including Chief of Defence Forces Brigadier Michael Rosette, members of the diplomatic corps and high-ranking officers of the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) had the chance to watch the exercise from the view onboard MCGS Barracuda which is a Kora-Class offshore patrol vessel of the National Coast Guard Mauritius.

The valuable operational experience gained during Cutlass Express contributes to participating countries’ ability to suppress and counter illegal activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, human smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal trade in wildlife.

Participating nations in Cutlass Express 2022 included Comoros, Djibouti, Georgia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, United Kingdom, and United States Interpol, the US Coast Guard, the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of Justice, while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also took part in the exercise.

The accompanying photographs show some highlights of the at-sea scenarios yesterday.

Roland Duval

Photos by Thomas Meriton