The Philippine Fleet officially started a five-day maritime drill on Monday, September 13, to harmonize the capabilities of its units with other components of the Philippine Navy (PN).
Dubbed as Exercise "Pagbubuklod" (translation: unification), the event is an annual maritime exercise conducted by the Philippine Fleet to further enhance the interoperability and readiness of PN units to address traditional and non-traditional threats.
The exercises were being held in Sangley Point and Ternate in Cavite, and at the approaches of Manila Bay until September 17.
"This year's Exercise Pagbubuklod 11-2021 focuses on harmonizing the capabilities of Philippine Fleet units with those of the Philippine Marine Corps, Naval Special Operations Command, Naval Combat Engineering Brigade, and Naval Reserve Command," said Commodore Renato David, deputy commander of the Philippine Fleet, during the virtual opening ceremony at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano in Sangley Point.
The participating units will conduct joint amphibious planning and field training exercises (FTX) on land and at sea, David bared.
Among the major exercises include maritime interdiction operation (MIO) with high angle sniping, amphibious air support (AAS), maritime air surveillance (MAS) and intelligence surveillance and recoinassance (ISR).
There would also be maritime search and rescue (MSAR), high-risk visit, board, search and seizure (HRVBSS), amphibious assault and raid, insertion and extraction, amphibious sealift, force protection capability, support and sustainment, afloat command and control, gunnery exercise, shipboard helicopter operations (HELOPS), and casualty evacuation operation (CASEVAC).
David said the event will specifically aim to test and re-test the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) of the Fleet-Marine doctrine in addressing traditional and non-traditional threats.
Meanwhile, David stressed that all face-to-face activities during the exercises will be carried out in strict adherence to health protocls set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).