The Royal Canadian Navy frigate, Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton arrived yesterday in Lisbon, Portugal to join Standing NATO Maritime Forces as part of Operation REASSURANCE, Canada’s contribution to NATO-led assurance measures that promote security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe.
HMCS Fredericton is the first modernized high-readiness frigate to deploy overseas in support of Government of Canada objectives. HMCS Fredericton replaces HMCS Toronto,which had been conducting maritime security operations and joint NATO training exercises in the Mediterranean Sea as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) since August 2014.
Operation REASSURANCE refers to the military activities under taken by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to support NATO assurance measures through the provision of military capabilities for training, exercises, demonstrations and assigned NATO tasks.
HMCS Toronto participated in various joint NATO training exercises as part of its Operation REASSURANCE deployment including Exercises NOBLE JUSTIFICATION, MAVI BALINA and a historic deployment to the Black Sea for Exercise SEA BREEZE. HMCS Toronto will be returning to Her Majesty’s Canadian Dockyard, Halifax, in late January.
HMC Ships Fredericton and Toronto are both Halifax-class frigates with a crew of approximately 250 personnel of all ranks, including a CH-124 Sea King helicopter and air detachment.
[mappress mapid=”14865″]
Press release, Image: Canadian Navy