His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton departed from Halifax today to join Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2), part of NATO's high-readiness Standing Naval Forces in the Mediterranean Sea.
With a crew of about 250 members, including a CH-148 Cyclone detachment, HMCS Fredericton will integrate with ships from France, Italy and the United States to maintain a strong NATO presence in the region and serve as high-readiness maritime forces available to the Alliance.
For a period of nearly five months, HMCS Fredericton and aircraft will contribute to the multinational task group's mandate to enhance the collective readiness, integration, and interoperability of its forces, in order to deter all potential adversaries in the maritime domain.
This deployment is part of Operation REASSURANCE, Canada's contribution to NATO's assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe, supporting collective defence and the Alliance's capability to respond in a timely and effective manner to a variety of operational contingencies in the region.
