Exercise Scimitar Exocet, a multinational maritime security exercise, has been concluded in the Bab El Mandeb Strait in the Middle East.

The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Toowoomba participated in the exercise alongside two Turkish Navy vessels and French Mirage fighter aircraft.

HMAS Toowoomba commanding officer commander Andrew Quinn said the exercise proved RAN’s interoperability with the Turkish Navy.

“The exercise demonstrated the Combined Maritime Force’s resolve to maintain safe and unfettered access for shipping through a vital international strait,” he added.

The exercise involved responding to a real world distress call from a vessel’s crew under an airborne attack and air warfare exercises with French Mirage fighter aircraft.

The Combined Maritime Force (CMF) mission includes maritime security operations in the Gulf region, the maritime environment around the Horn of Africa, and counter piracy / terrorism operations in the Gulf of Aden.