APRA HARBOR, Guam (Mar. 06, 2017) – Units and personnel from the U.S. Navy and the
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) are scheduled to participate in the annual bilateral
training exercise MultiSail 2018, Mar. 8-14.
MultiSail is an annual bilateral training exercise that improves interoperability between U.S. and
Japanese forces. In 2018 the focus of the exercise will be on improving fundamental skills such
as tracking and defeating submarines, combatting other surface forces, live fire training, and
interoperability with U.S. and JMSDF units.
“MultiSail is an opportunity for our ships to increase our combat proficiency at sea,” said Capt.
Jon Duffy, commander, Destroyer Squadron 15. “We have designed MultiSail to exercise how
we detect, locate, track and engage simulated units at sea, in the air, on land, and underwater
with our Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force allies to help us increase our interoperability in a
range of mission areas.”
Participants include USS Antietam (CG 54), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Benfold (DDG
65), USS Mustin (DDG 89), JS Fuyuzuki (DD-118), and a number of subsurface and other
special units.
"MultiSail 2018 provide us a valuable opportunity to increase JMSDF tactical capabilities and to
strengthen our interoperability with our U.S. Navy allies,” said Cmdr. Kazuteru Hirano, JS
Fuyuzuki’s commanding officer. “The Japan-U.S. alliance is stronger than it has ever been, and
it is growing stronger.”
The participating forces will exercise a wide range of capabilities and demonstrate the inherent
flexibility of our combined forces. These capabilities range from maritime security operations to
more complex anti-submarine and air defense exercises.
The lessons learned from exercises like MultiSail 2018 will assist the U.S. Navy and JMSDF to
develop regional capabilities that provide a full range of options in defense of their interests and
those of their allies and partners around the world.
MultiSail uses realistic, shared training scenarios to enhance the ability of the U.S, Navy and
JMSDF to work together to confront any contingency. MultiSail prepares forces that will provide
the deterrence and stabilizing effects of a force-in-being, ready at the outset of a contingency
without delays for buildups or extensive mission rehearsal.