IMX 19 kicks off in US 5th Fleet area of operations

International Maritime Exercise 2019 (IMX 19) has begun in the US 5th Fleet area of operations, the US Navy announced on 21 October.

The multinational exercise sees assets and personnel from more than 50 partner nations working together to maintaining regional security and stability, freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce across an exercise area that spans from the Suez Canal south to the Bab-al-Mandeb, through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Northern Arabian Gulf.

The exercise consists of four phases: staff training, table-top and classroom exercises, fleet training exercise and force redeployment.

The US 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses nearly 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The region is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab-al-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

Vice Adm Jim Malloy, commander, US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces, said: ‘This year’s iteration is the largest yet, expanding in size and geography; including all essential elements of maritime security operations.

‘We’ve grown participation by about twenty nations, are covering an unprecedented amount of ground in the region, and our multinational team is taking part in more training scenarios than ever before.’