NATO EXERCISE PROUD MANTA 2011 IN SIGONELLA

From 4 to 22 February, NATO exercise ‘Proud Manta 11’ was held at the Sigonella (CT) base of the 41st Anti-Submarine Warfare Wing. The exercise's aim was to train crews in anti-submarine tactics and in operations to counter illicit maritime activities, with particular attention paid to counter-terrorism. ”Proud Manta 11” represents the continuation of the previous series of exercises, named ”Noble Manta‘, thanks to which the Navies of the member countries had the opportunity to test new technologies and tactics in the context of under-sea warfare. Operational field testing helps both to determine which of the new available assets could be used in real operations and to evaluate the actual impact of the available capabilities and the improvements that can be made. During the exercise, ’sea gliders‘, low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles, were used for the first time; they can be controlled via satellite from an operations centre in La Spezia and were used to collect three-dimensional environmental data to support decision-making and planning processes. Michel Rixen, a scientist from the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) in La Spezia, explained their functions. Three ’gliders' managed to provide a comprehensive picture of the oceanographic parameters of the area and allowed for the optimisation of operational planning, mitigating environmental uncertainties. The Sigonella air base, home to the 41st Anti-Submarine Wing, Commanded by Colonel Pilot Luca Tonello, it was the coordination centre from which all fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft operated. Thanks to the aid of telemetry data from all assets involved, the immediate “hot” collection and analysis of all missions carried out was performed. The collected data showed how the Italian crews of the 88th A/S Group particularly distinguished themselves with the excellent results achieved during the exercise, obtaining a high number of submarine detections and successfully completing all assigned missions. In light of all this data, the significant results achieved by the Breguet Atlantic BR-1150 aircraft are clear. In this context, the crews demonstrated a very high level of professionalism, as well as a high spirit of self-sacrifice: typical qualities that distinguish the anti-submarine air component, essential for defence against a highly discreet threat, which is always lurking, particularly for a nation like Italy which is almost entirely surrounded by the sea.