The US Navy Special Forces participate in joint exercises with the Cypriot National Guard for the first time – VIDEO

Defence Redefined

Published on 12/09/2020 at 09:47

Two US Navy Special Operations Forces (SOF) crafts (Combatant Craft Medium transport vessels) have come to Cyprus in order to participate in joint exercises with the National Guard. The drills will be held from today until September 20.

As announced by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, the exercises come under the bilateral relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the USA and will mainly focus on cooperation logistics and navigation exercises.

Also read: The US announced the partial lifting of the arms embargo on Cyprus

These vessels are part of the Special Boat Teams (SBT) of the Naval Special Warfare Command. According to the specialized website sofrep.com there are 3 SBT groups, namely the SBT 12, 20 and 22.

?Στην Κύπρο για να συμμετάσχουν σε κοινές ασκήσεις με την ⁦@NationalGuardCY⁩ , βρίσκονται από σήμερα δύο ταχύπλοα σκάφη των Ειδικών Δυνάμεων Ναυτικού των ΗΠΑ.???? https://t.co/7UZ0JReeZq

— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceCyprus) September 12, 2020

Their personnel are trained to operate in adverse conditions both in rivers and the open-sea. Their missions include, among other things, the delivery of Navy Seals to hostile shores, ambusing of enemy ships and operations in jungle environment. Each group of boats consists of a number of command and support elements with their corresponding equipment (i.e UAVs).

It is worth noting that this will be the first time that the National Guard (Underwater Demolitions Command) will conduct exercises with this highly trained team.

Watch the video below: