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Apr 24 2025

Dynamic Mongoose 25: NATO hunts beneath the waves as Allies put most advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities to the test

Reykjavík, ICELAND – NATO's advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise in the High North, Exercise Dynamic Mongoose 25, is under way in and around the waters of Iceland. Hosted by the Icelandic Coast Guard and led by NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), the exercise runs through late April, bringing together a powerful force of Allied navies and air forces to enhance undersea warfare capabilities and strengthen transatlantic cooperation.

This year’s edition of Dynamic Mongoose includes surface ships, submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters from a number of NATO nations, including Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. These forces will conduct a series of challenging, real-time scenarios focused on detecting, tracking, and engaging submarines in a multi-threat environment.

Dynamic Mongoose is an extremely important anti-submarine exercise in the High North which provides an excellent opportunity for NATO Allied nations to train together and build upon our already impressive interoperable capabilities

Allied units will conduct this highly complex submarine exercise in the expanse of water known as the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom-Norway (GIUK-N) Gap. The cold environmental conditions at this time of year in the region present their own set of challenges that crews must overcome in addition to the exercise serials.

Imagery from previous iterations of NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose.

“Dynamic Mongoose is an extremely important anti-submarine exercise in the High North which provides an excellent opportunity for NATO Allied nations to train together and build upon our already impressive interoperable capabilities,” said Royal Navy Captain Steven McAllister, Assistant Chief of Staff, Submarines at MARCOM. “The GIUK gap is a critical maritime crossroad that NATO Allied Maritime Command will exercise in to ensure freedom of action in the region whilst maintaining our levels of readiness and sustaining values-based security across the seas.”

Dynamic Mongoose is an annual anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) exercise, which prepares NATO maritime crews to respond and adapt to any type of threat from seabed to space. It is an opportunity to train submarine crews to evade and respond from deep below the surface, while simultaneously training surface vessels and air assets to detect submarines and address the threat below the waves.

Ships of NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) will take part in the exercise.

“Dynamic Mongoose 2025 is a very beneficial exercise for Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, said SNMG 1 Commander, Commodore Arjen S. Warnaar. “It brings a varied array of NATO Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities together, and it does that in the crucial GIUK-N gap, where NATO requires an effective counter to the submarine threat. In this way Dynamic Mongoose 2025 provides our air, surface and sub surface units a very realistic Anti-Submarine Warfare training opportunity. An opportunity which we will put to good use.”

The ability to protect sea lines of communication and monitor submarine activity remains a top priority for NATO. Iceland, with its strategic location in the GIUK Gap, plays a pivotal role in North Atlantic security.

Participating navies will alternate roles between hunter and hunted, challenging their crews to adapt to rapidly shifting tactical situations. Maritime patrol aircraft will support these operations by conducting reconnaissance, surveillance, and coordinated attacks against simulated adversary submarines.

From icy waters and harsh weather to evolving tactical challenges, Dynamic Mongoose 25 will demonstrate the skills, professionalism, and adaptability of NATO’s maritime forces.

Story by Public Affairs Office at MARCOM

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