U.S. Navy among more than 50 nations in massive joint military drill

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- American naval forces are now taking part in a joint military exercise with more than 50 other countries, the U.S. Navy confirmed in a statement Monday.

This marks the eighth installment of the International Maritime Exercise since it first launched in 2012.

The IMX military training is being held concurrently with Cutlass Express, an exercise conducted in East African coastal regions and the West Indian Ocean "to counter malign influence, aggression, and activity along overlapping command seams and maritime regions," according to U.S. Africa Command.

The combined exercise is led by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and are taking place in the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and East African coastal regions.

Cutlass Express is scheduled to end March 17, while IMX will end the day before.

Combined, the more than 50 participating countries will employ more than 7,000 personnel, 35 ships and more than 30 unmanned AI systems.

In addition to individual countries, INTERPOL, the European Union Naval Forces, and International Maritime Security Construct are among the separate agencies taking part.

Last year, the naval training event counted more than 9,000 personnel.