Royal Navy: HMS Spey joins forces with France carrier Charles de Gaulle in Indo-Pacific operation - pictures

HMS Spey, a Portsmouth affiliated offshore patrol vessel, carried out various operations after being invited to Clemenceau 25. Exercise La Pérouse, led by the huge French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, involve gunnery drills, simulated attacks and gunnery firing.

The Carrier Strike Group - involving personnel from France, Britain, Canada, India and other nations - focused on three maritime areas: the straits of Malacca (between Sumatra and Malaysia), Sunda (between Java and Sumatra) and Lombok (between the namesake island and Bali).

FULL REPORT: HMS Spey fires guns at targets during Indo-Pacific op

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It’s estimated that over half of the world’s shipping traffic passes through these straits, which makes securing the area a priority for several nations.

Commanding Officer Commander Paul Caddy said: “Exercise La Pérouse has been a fantastic training opportunity for Spey. We have made the most of the chance to exercise the operations room and gunnery teams in demanding tactical serials, not something we have many chances to do during our typical constabulary patrols and defence engagement tasking.

“Putting the crew through their paces in response to a major fire while continuing to conduct evasive manoeuvres and simulate engaging low flying aircraft in coordination with partner vessels during an air defence exercise was an excellent test of whole ship reactions.

“Although offshore Patrol Vessels like Spey are not intended to fight on the front line, the enemy will get a say too! So it is important that we maintain our ability to operate the ship in tactically-demanding environments. Our success in these serials is a testament to value of the continuous practise and training we conduct at the unit level, and my highly motivated and professional ship’s company.”

The exercise will prove to be excellent preparation for the ship’s company ahead of the arrival of HMS Prince of Wales.