NATO WARSHIPS EXPECTED AT CAPE TOWN
A flotilla of warships is expected at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato) naval marine group one --consisting of ships from the navies of Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United States -- is expected to sail into the harbour on Tuesday afternoon, the SA Navy's Commander Jaco Theunissen said.
The Nato force will take part in exercises with the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) which would include most of the SA Navy fleet, including the four new frigates and the new submarine.
The exercises will only take place next week and in the meantime the public would be invited to over the weekend to board some of the most sophisticated warships in the world.
While the South Africans might throw out the welcome mat this week it would be all business during next week’s exercises during which the SA Navy with air and medical support would stage “attacks” on the Nato group.
It would be the first time that South Africa would exercise both its newly acquired frigates as well as its submarine capability with a foreign force in local waters.
“The exercise will provide an unprecedented opportunity for us to hone our skills in numerous maritime disciplines,” Theunissen said.
“Exercising with Nato will allow the SANDF to consolidate its proficiency in operating frigates to the highest of world-class standards,” he added.
It would also give the forces and opportunity to test their "inter-operability" with other forces.
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28 Août 2007 à 16:51 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
