NATO’s Standing Naval Forces have arrived in Scotland for the largest-ever Joint Warrior Drill, which will include 50 ships, 70 aircraft and 13,000 personnel from 14 countries.
The biannual military drills will be conducted between the 11 and
24 April, according to a statement released by the alliance.
“This exercise is a unique opportunity for us to work with
our Allied shipmates. For most US Sailors, our training and
qualifications are done with other US Navy ships; multinational
exercises like this help our Sailors learn how to cooperate and
excel with other navies in a challenging and multidimensional
environment,” said Lieutenant Commander Matthew Hamm, USS
Vicksburg’s operations officer.
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The aim of the exercises is to provide complex and coordinated
training between military forces from various countries and to
integrate land and maritime forces. They will also have an
anti-terrorist dimension.
“Joint Warrior is a very good opportunity to showcase the
interoperability skills we as an Alliance maritime force are
always perfecting. With this exercise we have a chance to work
together on a large scale and to implement all of the lessons
learned from our previous exercises. It will be an exciting and
busy time at sea,” said Captain Gennaro Carola, Standing
NATO Maritime Group Two’s (SNMG2) Chief of Staff.
Many of the aircraft involved will fly from RAF Lossiemouth in
Moray and Prestwick airport, a civilian airport with a long
runway that also has military uses to the south of Glasgow in
Ayrshire.
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Plane spotters are apparently already flocking to Prestwick,
according to local media, while local residents in the northwest
of Scotland have been warned that they might be disturbed by low
flying helicopters.
“Prestwick stands ready to play its part in Joint Warrior and
our involvement shows we have the expertise, capability and
resources to assist in Europe’s largest military exercise. We
look forward to hosting numerous aircraft from the RAF and the
Royal Navy as well as those from countries including France,
Belgium and Holland. Aircraft types should include various fast
jets, helicopters and transport aircraft such as Hawks, Falcon
20s, A340s and C130s,” said Prestwick’s Chief Executive Iain
Cochrane.
Many of the ships involved have already started arriving at the
Faslane naval base on the Clyde to the west of Glasgow.
The Royal Navy has said that jamming will be limited to an area
in the northwest of Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of
Scotland has warned hikers that there may be disruption to GPS
devises and to take a map and compass as well.
The last time Joint Warrior took place in Scotland in 2011
jamming was suspended after complaints by fishermen in the
Western Isles.
The war games come just weeks after a Scottish fishermen, Angus
Macleod, said the nets of his trawler were snagged by a submarine
resulting in his nets being dragged continually in front of his
boat. Such encounters can be dangerous for fishermen and he said
he and his four crew were “extremely lucky”.