The US Navy's landing platform dock ship USS Portland and the Israeli corvette INS Hanit carry out a passing exercise in the Red Sea on 15 November. (US 5th Fleet)
Israel is set to join the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a senior Israeli naval source told journalists on 11 November.
“Israel is not yet a coalition maritime member, but it will be the 35th country,” he said, without giving a timeline for a move he said was facilitated by Israel's transfer from the US military's European Command to Central Command.
Based at the US 5th Fleet's headquarters in Bahrain, the CMF has 34 members that include nine Arab states. Its main role is to co-ordinate its members' maritime security operations in the Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea.
The Israeli source also commented on a naval exercise that he said involved naval personnel from Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sailing on the same vessel for the first time. He described the exercise as the most advanced of its kind involving the Israeli Navy and the 5th Fleet, adding that the training scenario was basic but the US 5th Fleet would organise more advanced exercises in the future.
The 5th Fleet announced the exercise on 11 November, saying it involved personnel from Bahrain, Israel, and the UAE training aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland , with the focus being on visit, board, search, and seizure tactics.
It provided no further details but released a photograph on 15 November showing Portland sailing with the Israeli Sa'ar-5 corvette INS Hanit .
Earlier in November, Portland
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