#358 JANUARY 2018 // 57

Complex scenario

Air, naval, land and special

forces units that make up the

NRF are identified and selected

well in advance to give them the

opportunity to interact and train

together. They have to meet

stringent standards for seamless

interoperability during expeditionary

operations ranging from disaster

relief to high-end combat. During

the various exercises held in the

certification process, the readiness

of the participating units is

evaluated to prove their capacity

to operate in a demanding and

challenging tactical environment. “I

have to offer participating nations

value for money,” said Vice Admiral

Clive Johnstone, the commander

of NATO Allied Maritime Command

(MARCOM) who was attending

the exercise on board Mistral,

the flagship of the naval force for

the duration of the event. “NATO

has gone soft for the last 15

years. We have to come back

to fundamentals and change the

way we train and exercise. We

can no longer train as if we were

going to win each time, as if we

had enough stocks of everything

• ammunition, fuel, food, spares...
  Our sailors need to feel the fear
  and anxiety during the training
  scenarios. This is the reason why

I am so grateful to the Marine

Nationale for setting up such a

meaningful exercise. Here, we are

building an exercise that will help

provide the tip of the spear of our

fighting capabilities at sea for the

next year, and Rear Admiral Lebas

will become my direct link within

the overall command structure.

I want to stress that NATO is

‘operationalising’ and this type of

exercise is exactly what we need

to train in realistic conditions.”

The exercise involved 25 ships

and one submarine served by

3,500 personnel drawn from 13

nations operating as Task Force

445. The scenario included high-
     intensity combat operations to
     push naval and air units to their
     limits. Two cells within MCC
     were in charge of simulating
     enemy forces and allied land
     and air components, providing
     realistic geopolitical, strategic
     and tactical inputs. A team
     of five NATO evaluators – all
     senior, seasoned and highly
     specialised officers – deployed at
     sea to assess the performance
     of FRMARFOR and deliver the
     required certification. The Spanish
     amphibious warfare group also
     took advantage of the event for its
     own NATO certification process.

Air assets

Aircraft played an important role

in Brilliant Mariner 2017. “All our

sorties were planned in close

co-operation with the Combined

Brilliant Mariner 2017,

a large-scale maritime

and air exercise, was

held off the French

Mediterranean coast

from September 29 to

October 13. Henri-

Pierre Grolleau was

there.

Strike

from

the

sea

Spanish Harriers – the armed fi st of Brilliant Mariner

With the carrier Charles de Gaulle

undergoing mid-life upgrade in dry

dock, Task Force 445’s offensive

capabilities rested upon the Harrier IIs

of 9ª Escuadrilla Aeronaves. Spanish

EAV-8B+ pilots are trained for a range of

combat missions, including intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR),

power projection over land, air defence

of the task force, air superiority over

enemy-held territory, helicopter escort,

close air support and naval strikes.

If required, the Harriers can launch

and recover from a forward operating

base (FOB), which might be required

after an amphibious operation.

The Spanish EAV-8B+ – local

designation VA.1B – is equipped

with an AN/APG-65 multimode radar

derived from that of the F/A-18

Hornet, but with a smaller antenna.

It carries a wide range of air-to-air

and air-to-surface guided weapons

and a Litening targeting pod.

During Brilliant Mariner, the six

Juan Carlos I Harrier IIs trained with

and against both Armée de l’Air

Mirage 2000s and Rafale M fighters

of Flottille 12F, which deployed south

from Landivisiau for the occasion.

A pair of 9ª Escuadrilla Aeronaves Harrier IIs conducts a fl yby. Spain received 13 EAV-8B+ aircraft comprising eight

new-built aircraft from January 1996, plus fi ve upgraded examples from existing EAV-8B airframes from 2003. An

attrition loss occurred in 2003. Henri-Pierre Grolleau

‘Juan Carlos I’ heads up

Task Force 445 in the

Mediterranean. Arranged on

deck are two Sea Kings and

four of the six Harrier IIs

involved in Brilliant Mariner. NATO