Canadian Armed Forces are hosting an international drill taking place from October 24 to November 16, 2016, off the east coast of Nova Scotia and along the eastern seaboard of North America, going as far south as the Bahamas.
Participants are scheduled to transit down the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and end their training in the Caribbean Sea.
Units participating in Spartan Warrior 2016 include Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Fredericton, St John’s, Athabaskan, Montreal, and Spanish replenishment ship (ESPS) Patino, with embarked Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) personnel. Additional participating units include a destroyer, replenishment vessel, and submarines from the United States Navy (USN). Aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and USN will also participate.
Exercise Spartan Warrior provides experience in modern naval operations, allowing a higher level of overall readiness to deploy on missions at sea around the world. “Spartan Warrior 2016 was devised to provide sailors of the Atlantic Fleet, maritime aviation crews from the Royal Canadian Air Force, and participants from allied nations advanced experiential development in modern naval operations,” Rear Admiral J. Newton , Commander Maritime Forces Atlantic, said.
“Enhancing skill levels and cooperation with like-minded nations strengthens our shared confidence in modern combat systems, wide-area surveillance abilities, information sharing, and ultimately, mission accomplishment and the defence of the naval task force and our respective countries,” Newton added.
Spartan Warrior will also allow HMCS Montreal, as the RCN experimental ship, to conduct key trials related to crew size during the exercise.