THE NORTH AFRICA POST
First Independent Mena Newspaper
Posted by News Desk on November 9, 2012 in Africa, International
The air forces of the five Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania &Tunisia) and their European partners France, Spain, Italy, Malta and Portugal have staged lately a joint aerial military drill destined to counter terror threats.
The joint regional exercise, code-named “Circaete 2012″, seeks to enhance the combat capabilities of the air forces to prevent and foil terrorist attempts to hijack civilian aircrafts. It is part of the “Defence Initiative 5+5″ launched in 2004 to foster dialogue and cooperation between the ten members countries in matters of defense and security. The areas of cooperation include maritime surveillance, security & safety of maritime commercial traffic in the Mediterranean region, coordination between the armed forces during major disasters, air security and training operations.
The initiative also aims to ensure continued co-operation in air security and boost regional coordination in managing and dealing with a real case representing an air terrorist threat.
The scenario picked up for the year exercise involved two cargo planes entering the air space of the 10-member countries. Fighter jets intercepted the two “suspicious” planes, using the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
After the six-hour drill, a work session was held with the participating crews to evaluate the level of co-ordination between countries to combat air terrorism or cross-air terrorism and hostile attempts to infiltrate the air space.
Tags: Air Drill, Algeria, Counter-Terror, France, Italy, Libya,Maghreb, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia
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North Africa Post’s news desk is composed of the web redaction of the Newspaper, constantly looking for fresh and accurate stories for NAP readers.
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