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UK to increase NATO maritime commitment
DB News: 11/02/2016 - 11:47
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced that the UK is set to increase its maritime commitment to NATO exercises and activities.
Fallon made the declaration at the NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels, where he outlined a maritime package that will see the UK double its deployments to NATO at sea in 2016. In particular, the UK will contribute to NATO’s Standing Maritime Groups (SNMG1), for the first time since 2010, which commits to having NATO warships at sea.
The plan will include two new deployments: the deployment of HMS Iron Duke, a Type 23 Frigate, from January to July, operating in the Baltic sea; and the deployment of a Type 45 Destroyer to the SNMG1 from October to November.
The deployments will involve around 400 Royal Navy personnel and reflect the emphasis placed on NATO in last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Fallon said: “Increasing our NATO deployments sends a strong message to our enemies that we are ready to respond to any threat, and defend our allies. 2016 will see a particular focus on the Baltic region with our ships sent there as part of the Maritime Group, the Mine Counter Measure Group and the Baltops exercise.”
The UK’s 2016 maritime commitment will see the provision of the NATO Response Force 2* Maritime Component Commander, Rear Admiral Alex Burton, who holds a key leadership role in the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force maritime component throughout 2016.
It will also see the deployment of three Mine Sweepers, around 130 Navy personnel in total, to NATO’s Standing Naval Mine Counter Measure Group, each for four months; an agreement for NATO to use the UK’s National Exercise Joint Warrior in North Scotland and the North Atlantic in October of this year to train and certify the NATO Response Force maritime and air component commanders for their NRF commitments in 2017, involving more than 550 naval personnel.
The commitment will include the contribution of two Frigates to major anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Mongoose, and the UK’s largest warship HMS Ocean to Exercise Baltops in the Baltic region.
