UK, Japan conduct joint naval drills in the English Channel

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News June 24, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The British Royal Navy conducted bilateral naval drills with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMDSF) at the English Channel off the coast of Dorset.

Royal Navy’s River-class patrol ship HMS Mersey and Echo-class survey vessel HMS Enterprise participated in the drills with Japanese ships JS Kashima and JS Shimakaze.

According to the press release by the British Royal Navy, the patrol ship HMS Mersey and survey vessel HMS Enterprise were linked-up with Japanese Kashima and Shimakaze. During the drills, officers and cadets carried out military exercises and general-purpose mission drills.

JMDSF has sent its two ships on the Overseas Training Cruise 2022 halfway around the world to participate in training with friendly allies. The two ships have already conducted training exercises with Britain’s biggest warship and aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, earlier this month at JMDSF’s joint military exercise with NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNGM2), off the Spanish coast.

The link-up exercise between JMSDF and Royal Navy focused on enhancing the communication abilities in order to orchestrate the coordinated movements in close proximity. The four ships carried out sailor exchange drills for four hours in order to understand the working mechanics and life aboard each other’s vessels. The two navies were also set to conduct the boat transfer exercises; however, the bad weather conditions did not allow that part to go through.

^{Japanese Navy’s JS Shimakaze, Royal Navy’s vessel HMS Enterprise, Japan’s JS Kashima, and UK’s River-class patrol ship HMS Mersey from Bottom to top. (Image Credit: Royal Navy/UK Ministry of Defence)}

HMS Mersey’s Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Radue said that “It was a pleasure being able to train with the Japanese Self Defence Force as they operated in the UK waters.”

Exercises like these not only provide excellent training opportunities for our respective fleets but also strengthen the bond between our two countries. We wish the Japanese Self Defence Force fair winds and following seas in the rest of their deployment,” Radue added.

After conducting joint exercises with NATO and Royal Navy, the Japanese ships split up. JS Shimakaze is now at Portsmouth, England for the next five days while JS Kashima would be docked at the Thames alongside HM Belfast. Two ships are scheduled to carry out another link-up exercise with the Royal Navy in the coming few days, this time with HMS Severn, Royal Navy’s dedicated specialist navigation training ship.

A spokesman for the JMSDF said that the Japanese ships’ visit to the UK was a direct result of last year’s deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific, which saw flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth call on Yokosuka, near Tokyo.

*^{Japanese Navy’s Mogami-class stealth frigate JS Yahagi in Nagasaki Works, Japan. (Image Credit: JMSDF)}*

Separately, Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Nagasaki launched the Yahagi Frigate, the fifth of the Mogami-class, for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). A total number of 22 Mogami-class frigates are expected to be procured for the JMSDF.

The newly launched vessel is named after the Yahagi River, which flows through Nagano, Gifu, and Aichi regions in Japan. All ships of the Mogami class are named after famous rivers in Japan. The shipyard will now proceed to the fitting-out stage of the frigate, ahead of its delivery and commissioning set for the end of 2023.