BURGAS, Bulgaria (NNS) -- A P-3C maritime patrol aircraft and aircrew assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 concluded their participation in the Bulgarian naval exercise Breeze 2013, July 16.
The annual Black Sea naval exercise involved units from the Bulgarian, Turkish, Italian and Greek navies, a U.S. Navy patrol airplane and ships from the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2.
"This visit and our combined training demonstrates that Bulgaria and the U.S. are committed to building our ability to operate together to maintain regional stability and maritime security," said Lt. Cmdr. Tim Ewing, U.S. Navy exercise officer in charge.
The exercise focused on air operations, maritime patrol, and search and rescue operations with the multinational participants, while participating in crisis response and counter-piracy scenarios.
The Bulgarian-led naval exercise also focused on enhancing the operational and tactical interoperability at sea between the Bulgarian naval units and regional partners in the Black Sea.
U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts a full range of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation missions in concert with coalition, joint, interagency, and other parties in order to advance security and stability in Europe and Africa.
