Colombia, through its Navy, is the host country of Operation UNITAS 2023 in its 64th, which will take place from July 11 to 21 in the Caribbean.
More than 4,500 sailors, men and women, will take part in this exercise.
23 ships, three submarines and 29 aircraft are part of this operation, where more than 70 training exercises will be carried out in naval, air, submarine and land environments.
This operation is carried out within the framework of the commemoration that Colombia is carrying out in 2023, on the 200th anniversary of the Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo and Colombian Navy Day.
With more than 4,500 military personnel from 20 countries of the world, 23 naval units, three submarines and 29 aircraft, Operation UNITAS 2023 is taking place in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, a naval exercise promoted by the United States since 1959.
For 11 days, representatives from Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay will take part in this exercise considered one of the oldest and most important in the world.
The UNITAS operation will be carried out simultaneously on land and at sea. On land, activities will take place focused on expert and crew exchanges, professional symposiums and operations meetings that will take place in Cartagena, Barranquilla and Coveñas. Navies and Sailors will carry out training events in river operations and diving and rescue operations.
At sea, the participating units will carry out training and exercises in warfare, cyber defense, electronics, surface, anti-submarine, air defense, amphibious operations, maritime interception operations and special operations, in naval, air, submarine and land environments, including live-fire exercises such as SINKEX and an amphibious landing.
The exercise has evolved over the years, expanding its training objectives, moving from strictly naval maneuvers, to other fields including strategic weapons firing exercises, including maneuvers at sea, anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, live fire, amphibious, river, Special Forces, Diving and Explosives exercises.
This, the 64th, is considered the most diverse operation planned in the history of UNITAS, since it has the participation of 20 countries with different specialties available for its development; leading to increase cooperation links and interoperability resources, carry out combined naval operations that lead the control of the sea, improve the combat capacity of the participating naval and air forces, as well as strengthen those of humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
This is an opportunity to test knowledge in conventional warfare techniques, build confidence among the Military Forces of the Americas, identify common challenges to hemispheric security and prepare for defense against threats such as drug trafficking, irregular migration, smuggling, among other transnational crimes.
Joint and combined military operations in cooperative maritime security environments seek to maintain access, improve interoperability and build lasting alliances in order to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the world.
Source: Press - Navy of Colombia
