According to information published by the U.S. Navy on March 30, 2022, U.S. 5th Fleet and the Israeli Navy kicked off a 10-day maritime exercise March 27 that will take place in and off the coast of Israel.
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Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Cole (Picture source: US Navy)
Intrinsic Defender is a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Israeli naval forces. The exercise focuses on maritime security operations, explosive ordnance disposal, health topics, and unmanned systems integration.
More than 300 U.S. personnel are participating, including a U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal dive team, U.S. Coast Guard maritime engagement team, and global health engagement team.
U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67), dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE 8), and various unmanned vessels are also scheduled to participate in the exercise.
USS Cole (DDG-67) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer home-ported in Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Cole is one of 62 authorized Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, and one of 21 members of the Flight I-class that utilized the 5 in(127 mm)/54 caliber gun mounts found on the earliest of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and was delivered to the Navy on 11 March 1996.
USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE-8) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 14 April 2008, and she was launched and christened on 8 March 2009 in a ceremony held at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.
