Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime)

The "scaleable nature" of the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) means the Royal Navy assigns a wide range of relatively significant assets to the force, with its composition changing depending on the scenario and the range of ships available.

In April 2011, the Response Force Task Group deployed for the first time since its announced establishment in October 2010. The deployment was "designed to demonstrate the versatile capabilities and high readiness" of the Response Force Task Group and engage with foreign allies in the Mediterranean Sea and East of Suez.[10] On 9 May (en route to Cyprus), seven senior NCOs and the Officer Commanding the Support Troop from 6 Assault Squadron Royal Marines held a service of remembrance at the Souda Bay Commonwealth Grave site in Crete to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the bitter battle for the island.[11] Cougar 11 saw, for the first time, British Army AgustaWestland Apache attack helicopters operating from the decks of a Royal Navy warship, HMS Ocean.[12]

During the deployment the RFTG was involved in several multinational exercises: The first was 'Cypriot Lion' which included Royal Marines from 40 Commando, elements of 3 Commando Brigade HQ and a detachment from the Netherlands Marine Corps. The second major exercise was code-named 'Albanian Lion', a joint UK-Albanian military exercise and the first joint operation between the UK and the Albanian Armed Forces since Albania joined NATO in 2009.[13] The third major exercise was code-named 'Operation Red Alligator', described as a "major maritime security and anti-piracy exercise", it took place in the Persian Gulf with the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia.[14]

With the ongoing Civil War in Libya, on the 3 June 2011, five ships of the Response Force Task Group were temporarily detached and deployed off the Libyan coast as part of Operation Ellamy.[15] Ocean launched repeated Apache gunships strikes from her flight deck and worked alongside the French amphibious assault ship Tonnerre, which deployed her own Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters.[16] HMS Triumph (a nuclear-powered fleet submarine) fired her Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles at Libyan air defence and command and control centres. Analysts believe that in total more than 15 cruise missiles were fired by the submarine during the operations.[17]

Cougar 11 composition:[18]

Response Force Task Group in the Mediterranean Sea during Cougar 12

Cougar 12 saw Response Force Task Group deploy six ships and more than 3,000 marines and sailors to the Mediterranean in early October 2012. One of the principle purposes of the deployment was to conduct large-scale amphibious exercises with participating allies. Key exercises included: 'Corsican Lion' with France; 'Albanian Lion' with Albania; a visit to Malta and exercises with the United States Navy and the Algerian Armed Forces.[19]

Commander UK Task Group, Commodore Paddy McAlpine said: "Cougar 12 provides us with a superb opportunity to rekindle our amphibious capability after a prolonged period when our focus has been on operations elsewhere."[19] Exercise 'Corsican Lion' was the main focus of Cougar 12 and was designed to towards developing the maritime and amphibious components of the Anglo-French Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF). The exercise involved the Response Force Task Group working directly alongside the French Navy's Task Force 473 and the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.[20]

Head of the RFTG's amphibious operations, Brigadier Martin Smith of 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, was quoted saying: "It is an incredibly versatile force and our burgeoning interoperability with the French further proves this. The quality of Royal Marines Commandos and French Marines delivers a highly effective first response capability which is optimised for early entry operations."[20]

Cougar 12 composition:[19]

A USMC V-22 Osprey landing on the deck of HMS Illustrious

Cougar 13 deployed during the early autumn of 2013. In the Mediterranean, Response Force Task Group held exercises with the Portuguese Marine Corps and once again conducted exercise 'Albanian Lion' with the Albanian Armed Forces.[21] Anti-surface exercises were also held with the Hellenic Navy and anti-submarine drills with the Italian Navy.[22][23]

During mid September 2013, Response Force Task Group deployed East of Suez for the second phase of the Cougar 13 deployment where it linked up with the Royal Saudi Navy for exercise 'Red Alligator'.[24] While East of Suez, a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey from USS Kearsarge landed on Illustrious in a joint exercise with the United States Navy. Likewise, Illustrious's Army Air Corps Westland Lynx and Westland Sea Kings dropped in on Kearsarge, carrying a few passengers to get a brief insight into the American LHD.[25] In the Gulf of Oman, Response Force Task Group conducted anti-submarine drills against USS Dallas.[26] HMS Quorn briefly met up with the RFTG for exercise 'Sea Khanjar'.[27] Exercise 'Sea Khanjar' was observed by Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Philip Jones, Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Ed Davis, Lieutenant General Mike Hindmarsh and Commander United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard Marines, Colonel A Al-Tenaji.[28]

When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013, HMS Illustrious was ordered to detach from the Response Force Task Group and assist in the disaster relief efforts.[29] The mission was known as Operation Patwin, HMS Daring was already in the Far East when the tragedy struck and was swiftly able to provide humanitarian aid.[30]

Cougar 13 composition:[31][32][33]

LCU Mk.10 approaching the dock of HMS Bulwark

The RFTG departed on Cougar 14 during early September 2014 for a four-month deployment scheduled to conduct exercises and engage with foreign navies in the Mediterranean and East of Suez in the (Persian) Gulf and Indian Ocean.[8] Notable international warships that took the opportunity to rendezvous and participate with Cougar 14 were USS Makin Island, USS San Diego and the French ships Courbet and Dixmude.[34][35]

The first phase of Cougar 14 was exercise Albanian Lion 2014, followed by exercise Dragon Hammer 2014, concluding by 17 October 2014.[36] Several ships also broke off to participate in the middle-eastern IMCMEX exercise. Once completed, they regrouped with the Cougar 14 Task Group for further exercises in the region.[37][38]

During December 2014 on the return journey to Britain, Bulwark and Lyme Bay conducted exercise Sea Snake, where Royal Marines from 40 Commando and 4 Assault Squadron 'stormed' the beaches of Gibraltar during amphibious landings.[39]

Cougar 14 composition:[8][40]

HMS Ocean with a USMC V-22 Osprey on her deck

Cougar 15 took place alongside the larger NATO wide exercise Trident Juncture 15. Trident Juncture is a key exercise for the Royal Navy, as the country will take command of NATO's Very High Readiness Task Force in 2016. Trident Juncture 15 consisted of over 36,000 personnel and 70 warships from several NATO and allied nations. The exercise saw both the COMUKMARFOR Rear Admiral Radkin and COMUKTG Commodore Connell deploy on HMS Ocean and HMS Bulwark respectively.[41] Bulwark deployed with almost 100 extra Royal Marines from across 3 Commando Brigade, and over 100 specialist personnel required to command the Task Group and its activities.[42]

One of the first exercises during Cougar 15 was Corsica Lion, where Bulwark, Ocean, MV Hartland Point and the French Navy's Dixmude practised rescuing "civilians" off the northern coast of Corsica.[43] The RFTG also exercised with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2.[44] As part of Cougar 15, United States Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys flew off Ocean during Exercise Blue Raptor, transporting Royal Marines from ship to shore. This exercised ended around 24 November 2015.[45][46] Bulwark temporarily remained in Malta along with HMS Somerset to provide security for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015.[47] This security arrangement ended with Queen Elizabeth II visiting Bulwark and the ship returned to its home port on 7 December 2015.[48][49]

Cougar 15 composition:[50]

LPH HMS Ocean during the JEF(M) Amphibious Task Group in October 2016

In September 2016, HMS Bulwark (as flagship), HMS Ocean, embarked with helicopters from 845 Naval Air Squadron, No. 662 Squadron AAC and No. 27 Squadron RAF, and elements of 3 Commando Brigade HQ Royal Marines, RFA Mounts Bay and MV Eddystone Point, deployed on the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) 2016. After exercising in the Mediterranean, the JEF(M) then sailed to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, whereupon Commander Amphibious Task Group Commodore Andrew Burns shifted his broad pennant from HMS Bulwark to HMS Ocean so that he could assume command of the United States Fifth Fleet Task Force 50 until March 2017.[48][51]

JEF (M) 16 composition:

In April 2018, it was announced that HMS Albion was being sent to the Far East to conduct UNSCR enforcement operations against North Korea,[52] upon completion of which, the ship headed west to commence her participation in the Amphibious Task Group 18 (ATG18) deployment. With embarked battlestaff from COMLSG and HQ 3 Commando Brigade embarked, she rendezvoused with RFA Lyme Bay, RFA Cardigan Bay, and HMS Dragon, as well as elements from the Royal Navy of Oman, to conduct Exercise Saif Sareea 3 in October and November 2018.[53]

ATG18 composition:

BALTIC PROTECTOR 19 composition: