US and Israeli Navies Begin Week-Long Joint Drill

The exercise has historically covered maritime security, explosive ordnance disposal, and unmanned systems integration.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson transits the Arabian Gulf on Aug. 27, 2020. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matthew F. Jackson

A week-long naval exercise by the Israeli Navy and the U.S. Fifth Fleet began on Dec. 7, the Israeli military said.

The exercise, known as Intrinsic Defender, “aims to strengthen strategic and operational cooperation between the two naval forces, and practice responses to various regional threats,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a Dec. 8 post on X.