The North Atlantic Treaty Organization conducted war games aimed at tracking and eliminating submarines. The 12-nation exercises were the alliance’s largest-ever military drills simulating underwater warfare. 

Hosted by Iceland and dubbed “Dynamic Mongoose,” the drills ran for 11 days and concluded early this month. Ten ships, “several submarines” and seven aircraft from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the US participated. 

“These exercises enable our Allies and teams to sharpen their skills as well as work on new tactics while enhancing interoperability, coordination, and teamwork,” said US Navy Rear Admiral Stephen Mack, who heads up NATO’s submarine command.

NATO has conducted the Dynamic Mongoose drills annually since 2012. This year, the war games took place in the North Atlantic near the Faroe Islands. 

Since President Joe Biden took power in 2021, the US has participated in several rounds of war games that increased tensions in the broader Asia-Pacific, with Washington also announcing upcoming drills with South Korea  and the Philippines set to break records in their size and scope, stoking outrage in North Korea and China. In July, the US and Australia will also begin the “largest-ever” iteration of their Talisman Sabre exercise, which will see some 30,000 troops take part. 

Additionally, earlier this year investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the US and other NATO states used their “BALTOPS 22” drills as cover to plant explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were destroyed in an apparent sabotage attack last September.