SEA SHIELD 2026 – Multinational and Inter-institutional Exercise conducted at the Black Sea

The Romanian Naval Forces will organize, between March 23 and April 3, in the area of ​​responsibility, at sea and on the river, Multinational Exercise SEA SHIELD 2026, the most complex training event of this year.

 

The two weeks will include training sequences in a national, inter-institutional and multinational framework, and the activities will cover all action environments - maritime, riverine, lagoon, underwater, terrestrial and aerial, and will include complex scenarios adapted to the current security challenges.

 

This year's edition of SEA SHIELD Exercise will involve over 2,500 military personnel from Romania and 12 other partner states (Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United States of America and Turkey), 48 ships and boats, 64 combat vehicles, 10 aircraft and 10 autonomous unmanned systems.

 

The Romanian Naval Forces will participate with approximately 1,500 military personnel and 33 maritime and riverine ships and boats (including three frigates, two missile-carriers, a maritime minelayer, a minehunter, a monitor, two armoured cruisers and four river cruisers), 14 combat vehicles, four autonomous unmanned systems and two naval helicopters.

 

SEA SHIELD is annually coordinated by "Vice Admiral Ioan Georgescu" Naval Component Command and aims to increase the level of interoperability among the participating structures, in a joint multinational framework, with the participation of all Romanian Armed Forces Services, as well as to optimize the effort of institutions in the defence, public order and national security system.

 

By conducting this exercise, national and allied structures will improve their joint action procedures and cooperation relations, in order to maintain a stable security climate in the Black Sea region and on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance.

 

 

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TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MEDIA:

·         The opening ceremony of SEA SHIELD 2026 Exercise will take place on Monday, March 23, between 10:00 and 11:00, in the Port of Constanța, at the Passenger Terminal. Journalists interested in attending the ceremony are requested to submit their accreditation request and identification data (name, surname, position, editorial office, vehicle registration number and series of the identity card) to e-mail address contact@navy.ro, by Friday, March 20, 11:00. Access to the activity will be allowed between 09:00 and 09:30.

·        Also, two Media Day activities will be organized within SEA SHIELD 2026, as follows:

-          On Tuesday, March 24, onboard 111^th "Mărășești" Frigate –and 221^st "Regele Ferdinand" Frigate, to assist in training sequences and firings at sea. Embarkation will take place between 04.40-04.50, in Constanta military Port, and disembarkation will take place around 18.00, in the same place.

-          On Thursday, April 2, 9:00 a.m., in Victoria district, Tulcea County, military berth, kilometre 100, right bank, to embark onboard of 522^nd "Eugeniu Botez" Fast Support Intervention Vessel and to attend training activities on the river as part of an inter-institutional sequence, between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

Journalists interested in participating in Media Day activities are requested to submit accreditation solicitations and identification data to e-mail address contact@navy.ro, by Friday, March 20, 11:00 a.m., for the sea trip on March 24, and by Tuesday, March 31, 11:00 a.m., for attending the interinstitutional sequence on the river.

Point of contact: Lieutenant Alexandru Turturică, cell phone: 0724 820 002.

The Press Office