The Armada is conducting submarine search and rescue training drills during Exercise CARTAGO 26.

The Armada is conducting submarine search and rescue training drills during Exercise CARTAGO 26.

From April 21 to 23, the “CPX” (Command Post Exercise) phase of Exercise CARTAGO 26 will take place organized by the Submarine Flotilla. This phase focuses on the implementation of the General Submarine Search and Rescue Plan (PGSRS in its Spanish initials), and in particular on the corresponding Command and Control, Logistics, Family Support, and Communications structures outlined in the plan.

A submarine accident will be simulated in the vicinity of Cartagena so that all participating structures and units can put the aforementioned PGSRS Plan into practice and carry out the necessary operational and logistic measures to deploy the required resources and support. These efforts will focus on extending survival times inside the affected submarine and rescuing its crew alive.

The General Staffs of the Armada, the Fleet, the Maritime Action Force, the Submarine Flotilla, and the Navy Medical Directorate will actively participate. The Deployable Logistic Support Unit (UALOG-D), established by the PGSRS and composed of personnel from the Fleet, the Maritime Action Force Headquarters, the Cartagena Arsenal, the Submarine Flotilla, the Navy Diving Center, and the Naval Special Warfare Force, will also be involved. Also noteworthy is the participation of response units from the Ministry of Defense, the Army, and the Air Force.

Among the participating civilian agencies are Maritime Search and Rescue, AENA, the Cartagena Port Authority, and the Red Cross. In addition, the exercise will use all available instruments for such scenarios, such as the website of the International Submarine Rescue and Salvage Office (ISMERLO) and the Navy’s Maritime Collaborative Environment (ENCOMAR).

On the other hand, a very important part of the exercise is dedicated to medical care, family support, and communication management. Journalism students from the Catholic University of Murcia and the College of Psychologists of the Region of Murcia have been participating in the exercise for several years, conducting family support simulations, producing radio and television programs, and attending press conferences.

The second phase of the exercise will take place in the autumn of this year. The relevant lessons learned from this phase will be used to improve the PGSRS Plan. This exercise will serve as a rehearsal for the multinational DYNAMIC MONARCH 27 exercise, which Spain will host and which will be held in the waters near La Manga del Mar Menor next year.

Submarines are units of enormous strategic interest due to their significant offensive capabilities and the advantage they possess of being able to operate covertly for extended periods. Their main potentials are discretion and autonomy, which allow them access to areas, such as the coastline, where other units would find it difficult to operate. Added to this is their contribution to intelligence gathering and covert surveillance, the projection of naval power ashore, as well as maritime control and the denial of its use.