NATO

2020 News

Exercise Joint Warrior for Ville de Quebec and Asterix

September 17, 2020 adminHMCS Ville de Quebec, Joint Warrior, MV Asterix, NATO, Scotland

Exercise Joint Warrior is the largest military exercise in Europe, bringing together the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the British Army, as well as forces from other nations. This massive multinational war exercise involves warships, aircraft, marines and troops from UK, NATO and allied forces. The exercise doesn’t only allow participating units to hone their specialist roles within a larger war-style setting – it also helps foster vital links between the UK, NATO and other allied militaries. The aim is to provide a complex environment in which the…

2020 News

NATO’s new Atlantic command declared operational

September 17, 2020 adminAtlantic Command, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO, Norfolk

September 17, 2020 – NATO’s new Atlantic Command was declared operational in a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday (17 September 2020). Joint Force Command Norfolk, established to protect sea lanes between Europe and North America, is the first NATO headquarters dedicated to the Atlantic since 2003. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the milestone, saying: “NATO is a transatlantic Alliance and the North Atlantic is vital for the security of Europe. Our new Atlantic Command will ensure crucial routes for reinforcements and supplies from North America to Europe remain…

2020 News

SNMG1 exercises with Lithuanian Navy in the Baltic Sea

September 15, 2020 adminHMCS Toronto, NATO, SNMG1

September 2, 2020 – Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 has concluded a complex set of training exercises with several ships from the Lithuanian Navy, running 20-28 August 2020 in the Baltic Sea. The training focused on multiple warfare areas including search and rescue, damage control, vessel in distress, air defense and anti-submarine warfare. Exercises involved surface and air assets from SNMG1, Lithuanian Navy, Air Force and Lithuanian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. SNMG1 flagship Corte-Real in the company of HMCS Toronto and her helicopter had the chance to work side by…

2020 News

Netherlands Chief of Defense standing for Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

September 15, 2020 adminBrussels, NATO, Rob Bauer

Admiral Rob Bauer is in the race for the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. The Netherlands government has formally nominated Bauer for the NATO position. Should he be elected, he will hand over his current position of Chief of Defense to his successor in the summer of 2021. One of the reasons for his nomination is that Bauer is known for his honest, constructive and unfettered advice. According to Bauer, that is the only way to ensure that what is politically desirable is indeed militarily attainable. His…

2020 News

Last Goodbye to old NATO Headquarters

September 15, 2020 adminBrussels, NATO, Oana Lungescu

September 4, 2020 – The site and the building of the old NATO Headquarters in Brussels were returned to the Alliance’s host country Belgium during a small ceremony today (1 September 2020). After the spaces were emptied and the temporary structures removed, the old building was handed over to its owner, the Belgian Ministry of Defence. “Today we said our last goodbye to our old HQ, which has served NATO well through the decades, and where so many historic decisions were taken by Allies”, NATO’s spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. “We…

2020 News

Already Drowning in Bureaucracy, NATO Creates More

September 9, 2020September 9, 2020 adminBureaucracy, DEU MARFOR, NATO, Rostock

September 9, 2020 – The Royal Navy has committed to supporting Germany setting up a new headquarters for NATO operations. It has signed a binding agreement with its continental counterpart – which includes providing a liaison officer to the new German Maritime Force (DEU MARFOR) taking shape in Rostock. From the middle of this decade, the headquarters will not only be the hub of German Navy operations, but also be available to the UN, NATO and EU for operations and exercises they wish to direct. Warfare officer Lieutenant Commander Thomas…

2020 News

NATO maritime and air forces train in the Baltic Sea

August 26, 2020 adminHMCS Toronto, NATO, NRP Corte Real, Riga, SNMG1

August 13, 2020 – Allied ships and aircraft conducted air-maritime integration training in the Baltic Sea on Thursday (13 August 2020). Enroute to a port visit in Riga, Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 vessels HMCS Toronto and NRP Corte Real conducted air defence training with Spanish F-18 and French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets participating in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission. A NATO AWACS aircraft was on-site, providing surveillance of the ships’ movements.

2020 News

NATO maritime exercise Dynamic Mongoose ends in the High North

August 6, 2020 adminASW, Dynamic Mongoose 2020, HMCS Fredericton, NATO

The needle in the haystack would be easy. A submarine hundreds of metres underwater, in an area the size of Denmark is something else. The operations room, the room you never get to see pictures from, is the frigate’s brain. It’s almost like in the movies, with walls covered in monitors, and dozens of computer consoles. At the screens, there are radars spinning, sonars scrolling and messages flashing. Gus sits in one of the corners, hunting for submarines. Gus, who is actually named Terje Gustavsen, is 33 years old, a…