Base staff in anti-piracy crackdown
A ROYAL Navy helicopter with 12 personnel from RNAS Yeovilton is the first to join a French frigate ahead of a joint anti-piracy operation at the end of this month.
The Lynx Mark 8 aircraft joined the warship when it arrived in Toulon. The joint UK and French operation will see the Lynx deploy with the FS Surcouf off the Horn of Africa at the end as part of Operation Atalanta.
In preparation, the crew from 217 flight have started a four-week training programme which includes an exercise to assess the warship’s capability for operations.
The UK team is made up of flight commander Lieutenant Mike Curd, pilot Lieutenant Chris Southworth, senior maintenance rating Chief Petty Officer Matthew Eccles, seven aircraft engineers, and two Royal Marine snipers.
Their training included a 15-week French language course earlier this year.
Article and image courtesy of This is Somerset.
