NATO Response Force to be tested at ‘Noble Mariner’

The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed.

The maritime commander for the NRF rotates among different groups annually. For 2017, the NRF Maritime Component Commander (MCC) will be NATO Striking & Support Forces (STRIKFORNATO).

This year, exercise Noble Mariner is combined with the Royal Navy exercise Joint Warrior and NATO Air Command’s exercise Noble Arrow, all held in the waters and littoral areas of the Northern United Kingdom. By combining these exercises participants from all exercises gain greater interoperability and more capability development.

Maritime activity during the two-week exercise will involve more than 30 naval units, comprised of ships and submarines. These will be supported at sea by maritime patrol and rotary wing aircraft. Joint aspects of the exercise will also include fixed wing aircraft based ashore and other land-based personnel adding up to more than 5,700 personnel.