4 Royal Navy patrol boats have accomplished a two-month deployment to the Baltic, working alongside NATO’s latest members in a collection of coastal warfare and harbour defence workouts.
HMS Puncher, Categorical, Pursuer and Dasher of the Coastal Forces Squadron took half in a number of drills throughout the area as a part of Train Tarassis, the most important operation but staged by the Joint Expeditionary Drive (JEF).
The JEF, a coalition of northern European nations led by the UK, ran the train throughout land, sea and air. Whereas Royal Marines took half in amphibious landings in Norway and floor operations in Estonia, the Royal Navy’s small P2000-class vessels centered on defending ports and delivery towards fast-attack threats in Latvian, Estonian, Finnish and Swedish waters.
The ultimate part of the deployment introduced the British boats to Berga Naval Base, south of Stockholm, for Train Fallex. There they confronted off towards Sweden’s quick and agile CB90 fight craft, which have been designed for operations within the nation’s slender archipelagos. The CB90s, crewed by Sweden’s Amphibious Corps, can attain speeds of as much as 40 knots and are armed with heavy machine weapons, grenade launchers and automated cannon.
In accordance with the Royal Navy, the British crews have been significantly struck by their Swedish counterparts’ use of non-lethal techniques throughout close-quarters manoeuvres.
“Fallex was the fifth and last train as a part of our deployment, which has allowed us to develop the coastal warfare idea and be taught from the Baltic states, significantly their patrol and harbour safety experience,” stated Lieutenant Keaton Leyland-Jones, Commanding Officer of HMS Puncher.
Earlier than arriving in Sweden, the vessels operated in Finnish waters with missile boat FNS Hamina, practising joint communications and interoperability following Finland’s accession to NATO. “The communication between us has been nice and all the pieces has labored like clockwork,” stated Lieutenant Jack Mason, Commanding Officer of HMS Dasher. “I’ve completely little doubt that if the decision got here for us to work collectively, we’d have the opportunity to take action, actually fairly simply.”