Naval News & Reviews

NATO'S RESPONSE FORCE

The Raytheon Standard Missile-3 provides a hit to kill upper layer defence capability. The SM-3 Missile is evolving and will provide even more significant defensive capability as enhancements become operational. Combination of naval ships and the SM-3 fulfils NATO's territorial missile defence requirement.
Maritime missile defence leverages existing investments in NATO's most advanced warships. There are a number of ships in service today capable of employing SM-3, such as the US frigate Aegis shown here. They can provide territorial missile defence, while maintaining their multi-role capability. Illustration reproduced by kind courtesy of NATO.

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.

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).

Knowledge, skills and ability of an MCC are demonstrated annually in an exercise called NOBLE MARINER.

NOBLE MARINER 16 is being held from 10-20 October 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 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.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

Proliferation of ballistic missiles poses an increasing threat to Allied populations, territory and deployed forces. Many countries have, or are trying to develop or acquire ballistic missiles. The proliferation of these capabilities does not necessarily mean there is an immediate intent to attack NATO, but it does mean that the Alliance has a responsibility to take this into account as part of its core task of collective defence. Illustrations reproduced by kind courtesy of NATO.