Spanish Navy F-100 frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón left her homeport to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG-1) and serve as the group’s flagship until the end of December.
Almirante Juan de Borbón (F-102) will relieve sister ship Méndez Núñez which is currently part of the group. This is the third and final rotation of the Spanish command of SNMG-1.
NATO’s Maritime Groups are permanently available to perform different tasks as rapid reaction forces in crisis scenarios. The F-102 will participate in several multinational high intensity exercises like Joint Warrior 162 and Noble Mariner 2016.
During the three-month deployment the F-102 is scheduled to visit the following ports: Glasgow, Belfast and Plymouth (UK), Karlskrona (Sweden), Hamburg (Germany), Lisbon (Portugal), and Santander and Rota, Spain.
The F-102 is the second Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate (F-100) equipped with an AEGIS combat system and the SPY-1D multifunction radar for anti-air defense capability. The frigate is under command of Cdr. Jesús Ángel Paz. For this mission the F-102 has embarked an SH-60B helicopter and a Marine Corps security team.