Israel, US wrap up 2-week joint navy drill aimed at boosting ties, shared learning

The Israeli and American navies wrapped up a two-week joint maritime exercise last week, aimed at strengthening bonds between sailors from both nations and having each side learn from one another, an officer involved in the drill told The Times of Israel on Monday.

The drill, dubbed Intrinsic Defender, which took place off the coast of Haifa, was the latest in a series of joint exercises between the Israeli Navy and the US 5th Fleet, the latter of which is stationed in the Persian Gulf.

Lt. Ido Niv, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Snapir Unit — a protection force and harbor security unit that is part of the 914th Patrol Squadron — said strengthening ties with the US Navy was especially important to his unit, as it would be able to improve and enhance its capabilities by learning from the Americans’ expertise.

“The Navy carries out lots and lots of exercises the purpose of which is to strengthen our relationship with countries like the US, Germany, Italy, and many more… the purpose of this drill was to carry out shared learning on certain issues, strengthening relationships. These are things that really help us in the Snapir Unit,” Niv said in a phone call with The Times of Israel.

“There is very great importance in establishing relations, good diplomatic relations and I think this is the difference between talking about diplomacy and doing diplomacy… we did diplomacy this week,” Niv said. “I think it is very important to learn from the countries, from these world powers, about our profession, and learn what we can do better.”

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the two-week drill involved sailors of the Snapir Unit and their 5th Fleet counterparts practicing detection and monitoring at sea, inspecting vessels, search and rescue scenarios, taking over hostile vessels, and responding to terror activity.

Snapir, which operates small Defender-class boats and has dozens of male and female sailors, is stationed along Israel’s northern Mediterranean coastline, including the area near the maritime barrier between Israel and Lebanon.

The unit is mostly tasked with the security of harbors and ports in northern Israel, though it can be sent out for other specialized tasks that require smaller vessels.

Niv said that his unit “proves that the service of women and men [together] in combat roles is possible,” amid criticism of gender integration in the military. “I have female commanders of vessels. My predecessor was a woman,” he said.

Niv said that during the drill, Snapir combat medics also demonstrated emergency medical treatment scenarios at sea, at the request of their US counterparts.

Also during the exercise, troops of the Unit for Underwater Fighting — known by its Hebrew acronym YALTAM — practiced locating, removing, and neutralizing naval mines using submarine drones, alongside their US counterparts.

The IDF said that the “significant exercise” was an opportunity for “joint learning, strategic and operational enhancement, and the strengthening of shared dialogue between the fleets.”

“Furthermore, it assists in promoting regional partnerships to thwart the threats that the region is facing,” the IDF added.

The commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, hailed ties with the Israeli Navy in a statement.

“Israel is one of our most capable maritime partners and these exercises further underscore historic military cooperation achieved in recent years. Training, and operating together strengthens regional maritime security and stability,” Cooper said.

The US 5th Fleet has conducted 18 drills with the Israeli Navy over the past two years, as well as multiple joint patrols in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden.

Last month, the elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit also held a drill with the US 5th Fleet in Israel.

That drill, dubbed Juniper Spartan, was led by the IDF Depth Corps, a shadowy multidisciplinary unit responsible for military operations beyond Israel’s borders.

The IDF said the drill aimed to “strengthen the cooperation and the professional dialogue, between the Israeli Navy, US 5th Fleet forces and the Depth Corps.”

The 5th Fleet’s area of responsibility includes the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes. It also stretches as far as the Red Sea reaches near the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt leading to the Mediterranean, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.

In recent years, Iran and Israel have been accused of engaging in what analysts have called a naval “shadow war,” in which vessels linked to each nation have come under attack in waters around the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in a series of tit-for-tat exchanges.