Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Halifax and Her Danish Majesty's Ship (HDMS) Absalon of Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) recently concluded their successful participation in exercise JOINT WARRIOR 21-1 off the coast of Scotland on May 14, 2021.

JOINT WARRIOR is a United Kingdom-led multinational exercise held twice a year in the waters around the U.K. and is designed to exercise a wide range of high-readiness warfighting capabilities across land, sea and air units in joint operations.

It provides realistic multi-threat scenarios within a safe operating environment into which NATO Allies and partner nations' formations, units and staffs can deploy and undertake collective training in preparation for any upcoming joint deployments.

JOINT WARRIOR 21-1 ran from May 8 to May 20, 2021 and was integrated with Exercise STRIKE WARRIOR for the first time, which is the final stage in preparing the U.K.'s Carrier Strike Group for its maiden operational deployment.

On completion of the exercise, the U.K. Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship -- the aircraft carrier Her Majesty's Ship (HMS) Queen Elizabeth -- will set sail to the Indo-Pacific region for a high-profile, seven-month long deployment showcasing its flexibility and ability to act at political, diplomatic and military levels.

The carrier strike activity demonstrates power projection over large distances with its unparalleled combat capability, and is a critical element of NATO deterrence.

Several Allied aircraft carriers, under national command, are deploying into Supreme Allied Commander Europe's area of responsibility during these months, demonstrating Allied unity and commitment to effectively deliver multi-domain effects.

Throughout JOINT WARRIOR 21-1, SNMG1 ships HDMS Absalon and HMCS Halifax were joined by ships from the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Denmark and France. SNMG1 is under the command of the RCN's Commodore Bradley Peats.

The Task Group simulated a belligerent naval adversary for the U.K. Carrier Strike Group, according to the fictional JOINT WARRIOR 21-1 exercise scenario.

SNMG1 and its consorts began JOINT WARRIOR 21-1 with a brief combat enhancement/force integration training program in the waters off Northwest Scotland known as the Minch.

This phase ensured that participating units were fully integrated into the Task Group and ready to conduct various high-intensity operations and assume specific roles and responsibilities as part of the exercise.

Following this phase, the Group entered the free-play phase where units reacted to unscripted events as they happened and interacted with the UK Carrier Strike Group opposition forces in a variety of realistic operational scenarios.

'SNMG1 is proud to have played a vital role in enhancing mutual operational readiness and interoperability with our fellow NATO Allies and partners, especially the U.K. Carrier Strike Group,' said Commodore Peats.

'Large multinational training exercises like JOINT WARRIOR improve NATO's overall defence capabilities while enhancing its responsiveness to deploy high-readiness military forces to conduct coordinated joint operations against various current and future threats, which supports the NATO Readiness Initiative.'

NATO protects almost a billion people across two continents by working together to collectively deter potential aggressors and confront challenges across a vast range of operations.

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