Exercise Cutlass Express 2025 Concludes in Tanzania

During the exercise, which took place from Feb. 10-21, over 1000 participants from 20 partner nations supported Exercise Cutlass Express 2025 as part of a global network of partners to enhance cooperation and expertise in maritime security operations in the Western Indian Ocean.

In Tanzania, 2 national maritime operation centers (MOCs) participated in the exercise to collaborate on real-time scenarios linked to the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) training hosted in Tanga, Tanzania. Exercise Cutlass Express 2025 also contained linkages with the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa-led exercise Justified Accord 2025, also taking place in Tanzania, to improve coordination between land- and sea-based operations.

“We value the TPDF's role as a regional leader in deploying peacekeeping forces, countering violent extremist organizations, and promoting maritime security,” said Andrew Lentz Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. “Through exercises like Cutlass Express, we are building the readiness of our militaries and deepening the bilateral and multilateral relationships required to confront today’s most complex security challenges.”

Cutlass Express focuses on enabling East African partners to expand their capacity and capability to support maritime security operations and combat threats such as piracy, trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The coordination of 10 national MOCs across 8 partner nations sought to improve regional coordination, with this year being the first to feature a U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft to establish communication links during a Cutlass Express. VBSS training in both Tanzania and Mauritius, as well as a week-long rule of law course hosted in Seychelles, allowed partners to share and refine their tactics for interdiction operations while ensuring a legal finish to hold malign actors accountable for illicit at-sea activity.

“Ensuring the free flow of commerce within the region, especially over critical sea lines of communication and the vast expanse of this maritime environment, is vital to the economic stability and security of the region,” said Rear Adm. David E. Ludwa, reserve director of logistics, ordnance and engineering for Navy Reserve U.S. 6th Fleet. “We must work together, deepen our partnerships, and continue to improve the quality of exercises like Cutlass Express to enhance our ability to communicate and synchronize maritime operations to collectively counter the manifold threats we face.”

Participants in this year’s iteration of Cutlass Express spanned 5 continents and included Australia, Belgium, Comoros, Djibouti, France, Georgia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom.

Cutlass Express is one of three regional maritime exercises led by U.S. 6th Fleet as part of a comprehensive strategy to provide collaborative opportunities to African forces and international partners to address maritime security concerns.

Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa.