Danish frigate to meet up with US carrier group in the Med for ISIS ops

Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate HDMS Peter Willemoes is set to depart its homeport on January 26 and head towards the Mediterranean Sea where it is to meet U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush.

Danish parliament decided last Friday to send a frigate in addition to some 60 special forces as a contribution to the international fight against ISIS in Syria.

HDMS Peter Willemoes is set to depart from the Naval Base Korsør and, apart from friends and family, will be farewelled by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark.

Back in November 2016, the frigate paid a two-day visit to Baltimore where it hosted a defense industry event headed by Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish minister for business and growth, Danish ambassador to the United States, Lars Gert Lose, and Rear Admiral, Frank Trojahn, Chief of Naval Staff.

HDMS Peter Willemoes is the second of three Iver Huitfeldt-class air defense frigates which are considered to be the most powerful ships in the Royal Danish Navy. The 138-meter ships were built at the Odensee Steel Shipyard, part of Maersk Group, at a cost of US$325M per ship.

The frigates’ armament consists of several different missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes and machine guns.