Iron Duke at forefront of Dynamic Guard

A Royal Navy frigate has been at the forefront of a NATO anti submarine exercise off the coast of Norway.

HMS Iron Duke has just completed Exercise Dynamic Guard an annual exercise designed to test the ability of participating units to operate as a combined force during air, sea and underwater assaults.

Portsmouth based Iron Duke worked with other members of SNMG1 (Standing NATO Maritime Group 1) during Dynamic Guard – the first multi-national exercise of SNMG1 since it formed at the beginning of the year.

The exercise, occasionally hampered by bad weather, was seen as a success by the participating units and enabled the crews to practise and strengthen their operating procedures with units from other countries.

Petty Officer (Under Water) John Holah is Iron Duke’s onboard anti-submarine warfare director, he said, “Conducting exercises of this nature is always a great experience, we are a swept up team so getting to test our skills and knowledge against a real life submarine is fantastic.”

“Operating with other navies can always be a bit tricky at first until you get a clear idea of how they function but this period has been really good for us to learn how best to work together.”

Under the command of a Spanish Rear Admiral, SNMG1 has several exercises coming up in both the North Sea and Baltic region before Iron Duke returns to the UK in the summer.