OPV deployment to Pacific will strengthen cooperation, says CDS
HMS Spey (left) and Tamar together prior to leaving HMNB Portsmouth. (Photo: MoD/ Crown Copyright)
Earlier this month, two RN OPVs, HMS Tamar and Spey, arrived in San Diego, and the ships have already begun engagement activities.
UK Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Sir Nick Carter has said the deployment of two Batch 2 River-class OPVs to the Indo-Pacific region will help to strengthen regional defence cooperation.
Carter made the comments in a message to the Pacific Future Forum summit on 20 October, held onboard the UK’s second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.
Speaking from the British Embassy in Washington DC, Carter said: ‘HMS Tamar and HMS Spey are now both in the Pacific Ocean. They’ll have no permanent base because an agile support solution will allow them to operate from anywhere.
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