Cutlass Express is one of three African regional Express series exercises sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet (CNE-CNA/C6F). The objective of the exercise is to improve regional cooperation, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), information sharing between Maritime Operation Centers (MOCs), responsiveness of maritime assets, use of rule of law, and counter-proliferation interdiction capabilities in order to disrupt illicit trafficking and counter piracy.