The frigate Niels Juel joins Task Group 441.01
The Danish frigate Niels Juel is for the next three months deployed in to a NATO naval force at very high alert. The aims of the naval force is to emphasize NATO's determination and ability to defend the populations and territories of the alliance.
March 1, 2023 - 12:57
The frigate HMDS Niels Juel (to the right) during an exercise with a British frigate in the Baltic Sea.
On February 27. Niels Juel left the Naval Station of Korsør to join NATO's Task Group 441.01, which is part of NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). The frigate will conduct shooting exercises near Sjællands Odde before proceeding to Skagerrak to meet with other ships in the naval force. The naval force includes amongst others warships from Germany and Spain. The naval force will primarily operate in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea.
The purpose of the naval force is to be NATO's immediate maritime rapid reaction force and to demonstrate the alliance's solidarity, willingness and ability to protect NATO's populations and territories from any aggression. With the deployment of Niels Juel, Denmark contributes to NATO's heightened readiness, which is a response to Russia's attacks on Ukraine and aggressive rhetoric towards its European neighbors. The deployment of the Danish warship helps ensure that NATO has the necessary forces to deter potential enemies from attacking Denmark or other NATO countries and to defend the territories of the NATO countries if necessary.
"Especially in times like these, it is really important to show determination and solidarity in NATO, and therefore, I am proud that we can once again send a contribution to NATO's standing forces under VJTF, ensuring that Denmark contributes to the collective defence and thus Denmark's security from the sea," says Captain (naval) Dan B. Termansen, who is the chief of the Navy's 2nd Squadron.
The frigate Niels Juel is a modern and powerful warship that, with its high tech sensors and weapons, is ready to counter all types of threats and, if necessary, contribute to defending NATO's territory. Niels Juel will have a Sea Hawk helicopter on board during part of the deployment period. The frigate has a crew of approximately 120 people.
The naval force's tasks may include all military maritime operations, including contributing to the establishment of local sea control and securing maritime communication routes and the right to free navigation. In addition to being on standby, the ships in the naval force will train together, and the force will participate in allied exercises. The naval force with Niels Juel will participate, among others, in the large-scale Joint Warrior exercise, taking place off the northern coast of Norway in March.