Reportage: Onboard a French minehunting ship in the Mediterranean

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Reportage: Onboard a French minehunting ship in the Mediterranean  Euronews joined the French minehunting ship Le Capricorne for a day during the Ariadne 2025 exercise in Greece.   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/14/reportage-onboard-a-french-minehunting-ship-in-the-mediterranean  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00This French military vessel is hunting naval mines as part of an exercise dubbed Ariadne

00:06commanded by the Greek Navy. Teams from the US, Romania and Belgium are also taking part.

00:12On board each ship are mine clearance divers and specialised drones.

00:17We caught up with Commander Melin of the Capricorn to learn more.

00:22It is a mining country that is thriving and has a terrorist faction that would have mined the area.

00:37The objective of our task group is to intervene on a UN resolution

00:45to guarantee the freedom of movement of the maritime zones in the territorial waters of the mine.

00:53Among the Greeks, there is a frigate on board which is the head of the task force,

00:59as well as a Romanian diving base.

01:04And finally, teams from the US, Romania and Belgium are also participating in this exercise.

01:14This sort of painstaking work, nowadays primarily used to clear mines that have been used in conflict since the First World War

01:22or to secure theatres of operations before the deployment of other military vessels,

01:27is about to undergo a revolution as next generation naval drones should come online in a few years

01:33and replace the need for this demagnetised ship to navigate over underwater minefields

01:38which puts dozens of sailors' lives at risk.

01:41The French military is currently testing such a drone.

01:44This anti-mine warfare exercise is also aimed at fostering cooperation among NATO maritime forces

01:51and, crucially, boosting interoperability, a key goal of the military alliance

01:56since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

02:00The French mine hunters are part of NATO's permanent task group

02:06stationed in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic Ocean.

02:13We are still participating in the Steadfast Start exercise for 2025,

02:17which is NATO's main exercise for 2025.

02:22We will meet the NATO TG around Rota to participate in another exercise

02:29and the French mine hunters who are part of NATO's TG.

02:34Alice Tidy for Euronews, off the coast of Crete.

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