**** Navy Media Release
Royal Canadian Navy ships return from Operation REASSURANCE
Today, the ships’ companies of His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Kingston and Summerside returned to their homeport of Halifax, N.S., after successfully completing their deployment on Operation REASSURANCE in support of NATO assurance and deterrence measures in European waters.
The deployment of Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels on Operation REASSURANCE serves as an example of how the Canadian Armed Forces support international efforts in Central and Eastern Europe, by continuing to work alongside our Allies to strengthen security, and stability cooperation efforts in Europe.
Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels have the range and capability to be deployed across the globe and have the versatility to complete a wide variety of missions due to their modular payload capabilities. They’ve seen historic success in operations such as PROJECTION, CARIBBE, and NANOOK.
Quick Facts
- Deploying Royal Canadian Navy ships in support of NATO provides Canada with the flexibility to execute a range of exercises and operations in real training environments with our Allies. This helps support the Alliance effort in the Baltic region, including surveillance, monitoring, and diplomatic engagement.
- NATO has two immediate maritime reaction forces: the Standing NATO Maritime Groups (SNMG) composed of SNMG1 and SNMG2, and the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Groups (SNMCMG) composed of SNMCMG1 and SNMCMG2.
- SNMGs are multinational, integrated maritime forces made up of vessels from various Allied countries. These vessels, including their air assets, are permanently available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participating in exercises to intervening in operational missions. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability for operations and other activities in peacetime and in periods of crisis and conflict. They also help to establish Alliance presence, demonstrate solidarity, conduct routine diplomatic visits to different countries, support transformation, and provide a variety of military maritime capabilities to ongoing missions.
- HMC Ships Kingston and Summerside deployed as part of SNMG1 in support of NATO assurance and deterrence measures in European waters.
