U.S. Navy mine countermeasures ship USS Gladiator (MCM 11) operated with patrol boat P-312 from Iraq as well as Kuwait’s missile-attack craft Failaka (P3715). The three nations previously conducted similar exercises in the Arabian Gulf in December and August last year.
Gladiator is a mine countermeasures ship designed to clear mines from vital waterways. The ship is forward-deployed to Bahrain where U.S. 5th Fleet is headquartered.
The U.S. 5th Fleet operating area includes 21 countries, the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb and Suez Canal.
