The US Marine Corps is gearing up for the biennial Native Fury exercise, an exercise focused on enhancing interoperability with regional partners in the Middle East and sharpening rapid response capabilities.

Specifically, the exercise aims to showcase the Corps' ability to rapidly offload and integrate maritime prepositioned forces (MPFs) in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in support of regional security, crisis response and contingency operations.

This year will mark the ninth iteration of Native Fury and the second year Saudi Arabia will serve as one of the host nations.

Drills are also set to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and involve the US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Army and the US Coast Guard's Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA).

Members of the Royal Bahraini Armed Forces and Royal Jordanian Armed Forces will also participate.

As a part of the exercise, Native Fury participants will conduct an MPF combat offload in the waters off the coast of Saudi Arabia with support from the logistics-focused US Army Theater Sustainment Command.

The US Navy defines an MPF operation as "the rapid deployment and assembly of a Marine air-ground task force in a secure area using intertheater airlift and forward-deployed maritime prepositioning ships."

MPF operations provide combatant commanders with adaptable and global response capabilities and are particularly well suited to respond to any crisis or contingency.

Trans-Arabian Network

Native Fury 24 will help the US Marine Corps further hone its ability to establish an air-ground task force capable of conducting any mission in the Red Sea.

It will also center on integrating the US Marine Corps and US Army through reception, staging and onward movement exercises.

This year's exercise will involve moving forces from Saudi Arabia to the UAE and will focus on training forces in the use of the Trans-Arabian Network's lines of communication.

The Trans-Arabian Network is a network of nodes, modes and routes that spans 10 nations on the Arabian Peninsula. It provides freedom of movement across the Arabian Peninsula in support of contingency operations, transporting equipment and manpower with ease.

This record setting exercise is expected to see the Marine Corps rapidly move an unprecedented almost 1,000 units of equipment across 2,000km.

Joint exercises like Native Fury enhance partnership with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, building rapport among the nations' forces and refining combined tactics and operations.

Native Fury also demonstrates the United States' ability to rapidly deploy forces from anywhere in the world, offload and integrate forces with a host nation.

Amid rising tensions due to the aggression of Iran and its proxies, the United States' continued demonstration of a flexible, capable force in the region is a core part of enhancing regional maritime security.