PSI Members Conduct Naval Interdiction Exercise

Members of the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, which seeks to interdict shipments of WMD-related cargo, began a naval interdiction exercise in the Arabian Sea this week, according to InsideDefense.com (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2003).

The “Sea Saber” exercise is scheduled to end with a two-day simulation starting today that involves Spanish special operations forces forcibly boarding a suspect ship, according to InsideDefense.com. In addition to Spain, six other PSI members are taking part in the exercise.

In the coming months, PSI member Italy is expected to lead a live air-interdiction exercise, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said. The official said that the exercise scenario would likely involve the escort of a suspect aircraft down to the ground when it enters the airspace of a PSI member.

Describing the problems air interdiction poses, the U.S. official said, “The challenge is you can’t pull an airplane over and park it on a cloud” (David Perera, InsideDefense.com, Jan. 15).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.