A look at the Defence news 14 – 20 April
HNLMS Snellius has been deployed to the Baltic Sea for 3 months to relieve HNLMS Luymes in Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1), one of NATO's permanent maritime forces.
The tasks of SNMCMG1 include deactivating explosives found in the sea, and preventing the sabotage of undersea infrastructure.
Dutch military personnel start work in Chad
Eight Dutch military personnel will be training instructors in the African country of Chad until the end of July. The new African instructors will then train African infantry personnel for participation in African Union and UN missions.
The Netherlands takes turn again in air policing
The Quick Reaction Alert task is back in Dutch hands. Two F-35s are on continuous standby to protect Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourgish airspace. The Netherlands and Belgium take on this duty alternately.
Royal Netherlands Army ready for modern warfare
In recent weeks, as part of the Bastion Lion exercise, the Royal Netherlands army and the armies of two other participating nations practised rapidly moving 1,800 vehicles, 200 drones and 4,500 military personnel to NATO's eastern border for a combat operation. An area in Germany served as a mock eastern border for the purposes of the exercise. The exercise constituted a realistic preparation for a large-scale conflict.
Dutch army brigade trains under intense pressure in the Czech Republic
Dutch army personnel were recently put to the test in the hilly terrain in the west of the Czech Republic, where they spent 4 weeks taking part in a large-scale exercise in ‘enemy territory’. A Czech unit played the role of adversary very realistically.
Tuinman gathers information on technology in US
Last week, Netherlands State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman visited the US for the second time in quick succession, visiting various military and technology companies in California. He aims to gain as wide as possible a grasp of developments in the areas of technology and security, in order for the Netherlands to retain military relevance on the battlefield by means of digital technology and innovation.