Navy News
Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.
Iron Duke joins NATO group in Baltic to close out a busy 2024
19 November 2024
There’s a Baltic blast for frigate HMS Iron Duke as she closes a hectic 2024 for over a month in cold northern waters on NATO duties.
The Portsmouth-based warship – which has just completed tracking two Russian naval groups past the British Isles – has now joined the alliance’s main Atlantic task force.
She takes her place in the Danish-led Standing Maritime Group 1 – four frigates drawn from the Portuguese, Belgian, Dutch and French Navies, plus flagship, Norwegian tanker/support ship HNoMS Maud.
It’s one of two NATO groups of major warships committed to security in European waters. Group 1 is focused on the Atlantic and North/Norwegian/Baltic Seas – from Portugal to Bergen and the Baltic; Group 2 is almost exclusively concentrated in the Mediterranean.
British warships regularly attach to either group for varied missions: freedom of navigation, securing maritime trade routes and protecting the Alliance’s main lines of communications and choke points, as well as securing supplies and reinforcements along transatlantic routes during crisis and conflict.
After a few days integrating with the NATO group – including a visit to Riga coinciding with Latvian independence celebrations – business begins in earnest with Freezing Winds 24, the annual exercise hosted by the Finnish Navy in the northern Baltic/Gulf of Finland.
As one of the alliance two newest members the Finns are keen to demonstrate their ability to operate seamlessly with their allies… and NATO is equally keen to do the same with its new Scandinavian partner.
Collectively they have 11 days to do just that, as some 30 vessels – from large warships like Iron Duke through to coastal craft and NATO’s Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (the mine warfare counterpart of Standing Maritime Group 1) – throw their hat into the ring.
In all around 4,000 military personnel from around a dozen NATO nations are committed to Freezing Winds.
The focus of the 2024 iteration of the exercise is protection of maritime transportation/sea lanes, and surveillance and protection of the underwater infrastructure.
Exercise Director Captain Marko Laaksonen said Freezing Winds had become “an important part of NATO operations in the Baltic Sea” though he warned participants to be prepared for unpleasant conditions.
“At this time of the year, the weather can be anything from heavy snowfall to rainy autumn storm. We must ensure interoperability in all circumstances, and exercises in these unique conditions will definitely enhance our readiness.”
For HMS Iron Duke, the chance to workout in a different environment – snow, sleet, sub-zero temperatures – alongside numerous navies is a welcome chance to broaden the experience of her 180 crew, who’ve spent the bulk of 2024 on patrol in and around the UK.
“We are thrilled to join our NATO allies as part of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1,” said HMS Iron Duke’s Commanding Officer, Commander David Armstrong.
“We know how professional and highly trained ships’ companies of all our allied units involved are and we’re looking forward to integrating into the force.”