Manoeuvres off the coast of Oman

In a multinational exercise, warships practised various scenarios in the Persian Gulf. At the invitation of the Omani navy, a dozen units gathered off the coast of the country for the annual Khunjar Hadd manoeuvre - Arabic for "sharp dagger". The aim is to train co-operation with other nations and improve their own capabilities. From the United Kingdom, the frigate Montrose and the minehunter Chiddingfold and the supplier Cardigan Bay took part. For all three ships, it was an exercise on their doorstep, as they are stationed in Bahrain. With the HMS Montrose In addition to eight Harpoons, it also carries up to 32 Sea Wolf air defence missiles on board. And so for the Montrose The focus of the exercises was on air defence. Jets from the French Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and the Omani armed forces were involved in the manoeuvres for this purpose. With its radar equipment, the Montrose can monitor an area of 750 square miles. The frigate has been stationed in Salman/Bahrein since 2019. It is due to remain there until next year.

HMS Montrose (front) and USS Port Royal

Sea Lynx (front) and Seahawk

In addition to the Rafales, Typhoons and Hawks, helicopters were also deployed. There was intensive cooperation with Super Lynx from Oman and the American Seahawks from the cruiser Port Royal trained. There was also live firing with the artillery and various manoeuvres, while underwater the focus was on searching for mines. HMS Chiddingfolda minesweeper of the Hunt-class, carried out a joint project with the supplier RFA Cardigan Bayvarious exercises.

Text: mb; Photos: Royal Navy/Crown Copyright