HMS Defender participates in IMCMEX
The British Royal Navy's HMS Defender destroyer is leading six warships participating in the International Mine Counter-Measures Exercise (IMCMEX), the navy announced on 15 April.
Countries that have committed ships to the exercise include Pakistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Japan, Iraq, the US and Britain. Additionally, seven nations have sent specialist teams including bomb disposal experts, divers and boarding parties.
IMCMEX is held every two years to allow participants to train in the joint operations that help keep key shipping lanes free from disruption and the threat of underwater IEDs. The focus is on the world's most important 'choke points' for shipping: the Straits of Bab-al-Mandeb at the foot of the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz – gateway to and exit from the Gulf.
The Hunt-class minehunter HMS Middleton, which is permanently assigned to the Gulf region, is among the warships partaking in the event. As part of the exercise, dummy mines have been spread across the seabed in the exercise area for the ship to locate and destroy before merchant ships and non-minehunters pass.
Commodore Will Warrender, British Royal Navy, said: ‘The exercise allows us to undertake practical training and to test our equipment in an exceedingly realistic environment.’
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