Ecuador is hosting naval forces from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States for UNITAS LXI, an annual multinational exercise taking place in Manta.
This year’s exercise is hosted by the Ecuadorian Navy and will include 13 warships that will conduct operations in the Pacific Ocean November 2 through November 11.
Ecuadorian Navy Rear Admiral Diego Sosa, Chief of Staff of Naval Operations for the Ecuadorian Navy, will serve as Commander Task Force 401, the Combined Task Force (CTF) that executes the UNITAS exercise.
US maritime forces will be under the operational control of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 138, Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, commander, US Naval Forces Southern Command/US 4th Fleet.
Participating US forces include USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), USNS Burlington (T-EPF-10), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 Detachment 9, Patrol Squadron (VP) 9, Patrol Squadron (VP) 26, US Coast Guard Cutter Legare (WMEC 912), US Army vessel Chickahominy (LCU 2011), US Air Force aircraft and other units.
UNITAS is designed to train each navy to conduct joint naval operations through the execution of littoral warfare, maritime interdiction operations, countering transnational organized crime, anti-surface warfare, electronic warfare, communications exercises, and air and amphibious operations in order to increase interoperability and capability between participating naval and marine forces.
UNITAS, which is Latin for “unity,” was conceived in 1959, first executed in 1960 and has been held every year since. This year marks the first time in approximately 20 years that Ecuador has hosted the exercise and the 61st iteration of the world’s longest-running annual multinational maritime exercise.
