The F-100 frigate ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’ will integrate into NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2)



The frigate ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’, the second unit of the F-100 series, left her home port in Ferrol on August 28th towards the eastern Mediterranean to integrate next September into NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 2 (SNMG-2) along with other units from Allied nations.

The warship will take part in several NATO operations and exercises until the end of December when she is scheduled to return to Ferrol after a four-month deployment.

The integration of the F-102 into the SNMG-2 takes place just after an intense readiness period commencing last December, once the Programmed Immobilization Period –a series of regular upgrading activities– was completed. They consisted in several repair and maintenance works of equipment and systems so that the ship may be in the best of all possible readiness states before her deployment in this NATO mission.

As of September, the F-102’s crew will participate in multinational exercises and real operations throughout the Mediterranean Sea.

One of the scheduled exercises is Noble Mariner 2014, organized by Spain as host nation in the Gulf of Cadiz and the Alboran Sea. In those manoeuvers, several NATO and non-NATO nations will take part with naval, air, surface, land and submarine units.

Upon completion of this exercise, SNMG-2’s warships will participate in operation Active Endeavour where the frigate ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’ will conduct surveillance and naval presence activities in Mediterranean international waters. These activities include, among others, visits and searches of designated suspicious merchant ships. This mission contributes to deter, defend and protect the Mediterranean Sea against possible maritime terrorist threats.

The ship’s complement, apart from her own crew, includes a Marine Corps security squad, military air traffic controllers, a medical doctor, reinforcement personnel from other Fleet units and members of the air component supporting the embarked helicopter.

There are scheduled ports of call in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Egypt and Romania for crew rest and supply purposes.

International commitments of Spain within NATO

The operation has evolved over the years to the present configuration endeavoring to detect, deter and protect the Mediterranean Sea against suspect ships which might be involved in terrorist activities.

Participation in those NATO task groups is part of Spain’s international commitments, and is a great opportunity for the Spanish Navy to integrate in this type of standing maritime groups. The frigate ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’ participated in a NATO operation for the first time in November 2012.

The ‘Álvaro de Bazán’-class frigates (F-100) are warships specially designed for the anti-air warfare. The state-of-the-art AEGIS Combat System makes them one of the most modern and technologically advanced units of their kind in Europe. The ‘Almirante Juan de Borbón’ (F-102) has a complement of more than 200 people and her commanding officer is Commander Fernando Rosety Fernandez de Castro.