British frigate hunting submarines in the Atlantic

HMS Portland has joined the largest submarine hunt of the year in the Atlantic, a two-week NATO workout called Exercise Dynamic Mongoose!

The Royal Navy say here that the Devonport-based warship has locked horns with ‘the enemy below’, joining colleagues from eight allied navies and nations concentrating their efforts in the Norwegian Sea on Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.

“Hosted by either Iceland or Norway – this year participants are gathering in Reykjavik before the training begins in earnest on Monday – Dynamic Mongoose is one of two large-scale anti-submarine exercises NATO runs.

The current exercise tests collective abilities in the cold, open, deep waters of the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic. Dynamic Manta, held earlier this year off Sicily, does the same, but in warmer, shallower, more confined waters of the Mediterranean.

Depth, temperature, salinity and water layers in the ocean are key factors in submarine warfare, directly impacting on the effectiveness of sonar. The Royal Navy is committed to both; a Merlin flight from RNAS Culdrose was dispatched to Manta to demonstrate its prowess in hunting submarines.

And one of the helicopters is also embarked on Portland: the combination of Merlin and a Type 23 frigate is the most potent in the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare arsenal.”

There are three boats to chase down, with ten warships and more than a dozen maritime patrol aircraft – including an RAF P8 Poseidon – and helicopters involved in the hunt. You can read more on this directly from the Royal Navy here.