The maritime element of this year’s first Joint Warrior exercise took place around the coast of Scotland between 15 and 29 April. The manoeuvres, the largest to be held in Europe this year, involved almost 13,000 military personnel from ten nations.
The twice-yearly exercise hones interoperability between the Services and other NATO forces and also provides training for the UK’s standing Response Force Task Group, which was set up to respond at short notice to rapidly unfolding world events.
The UK-led exercise involved 49 ships and submarines from the UK, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Notable by their absence were a number of American warships, which were withdrawn as the effects of sequestration began to take effect.
