NORTHWOOD, UK – The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a highly ready and technologically advanced, multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed.
The maritime commander for the NRF rotates among different groups annually. For 2017, the NRF Maritime Component Commander (MCC) will be NATO Striking & Support Forces (STRIKFORNATO).
The knowledge, skills and ability of an MCC are demonstrated annually in an exercise called Noble Mariner.
Noble Mariner 16 will be held October 10-20 and is designed to confirm the NATO Response Force 2017 Maritime Forces interoperability, evaluate their readiness and validate the capabilities of the NRF 2017 MCC by exercising NRF missions and tasks.
This year, Exercise Noble Mariner is combined with the Royal Navy exercise Joint Warrior and NATO Air Command’s exercise Noble Arrow, all held in the waters and littoral areas of the Northern United Kingdom. By combining these exercises participants from all exercises gain greater interoperability and more capability development.
Maritime activity during the two-week exercise will involve more than 30 naval units, comprised of ships and submarines. These will be supported at sea by maritime patrol and rotary wing aircraft. Joint aspects of the exercise will also include fixed wing aircraft based ashore and other land-based personnel adding up to more than 5,700 personnel.
Exercises such as this one, allow NATO maritime forces to practice together and adapt new tactics to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture and project stability beyond Allied borders.
Source : Allied Maritime Command HQ MARCOM
