Warship teams up with Dutch navy on mission in the Med

PERSONNEL from a Portsmouth warship have united with the Dutch navy in the Mediterranean as part of an ‘experimental’ deployment to craft the future Commando force.

HMS Dragon, part of the UK’s amphibious task group, is on a three-month mission in the Med.

Operating alongside the Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMS Albion and support vessel RFA Lyme Bay, the £1bn destroyer provides protection from aerial threats like jets and missiles.

Naval top brass see this deployment as an ‘experiment’ and a chance to test new tech, tactics and concepts to help forge the Royal Marines’ future commando force – and the ship and aircraft that will carry them into battle.

Dragon and the rest of the British task force rendezvoused with HNLMS Johan de Witt and HNLMS Rotterdam.

The fleet of warships have combined to carry out joint manoeuvres.

These have included multiple mock air attacks of Royal Navy flagship Albion.

The opportunity to train alongside Dragon and the rest of the Royal Navy task group has been welcomed by sailors from the Netherlands Maritime Force.

Lieutenant Commander Peter Schilt, a Dutch exchange officer aboard HMS Albion, said: ‘ This meeting was extremely important and demonstrates the good relations and long and strong bonds between our navies.

‘Both navies have proven through joint exercises and operations that we are reliable and capable to meet threat challenges together.’

HMS Dragon left Portsmouth earlier this month and arrived in Gibraltar to join Albion and Lyme Bay.

It iss hoped that Dragon will be able to retur n to Portsmouth before Christmas.