The Germany Navy deployed Brandenburg-class Type F123 frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (F218) to join the NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). During this deployment, the frigate will serve as the flagship of the new German commander of the Nato unit for a period of next six months. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern along with a crew of 210 members, has been deployed in the northern flank area of operation, which includes the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Sea. The maritime unit of the Nato’s Response Force (NRF) will be led by the flotilla admiral Thorsten Marx.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (F218) is a Brandenburg-class frigate of the German Navy. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the three other frigates of the Brandenburg class were designed as replacements for the F123 Hamburg-class destroyers. They were ordered by the German Navy in June 1989 and completed and commissioned between 1994 and 1996, replacing the Hamburg-class destroyers. The ships primarily carry out anti-submarine warfare (ASW), but they also contribute to local anti-aircraft defenses, the tactical command of squadrons, and surface-to-surface warfare operations. Together with the F124 Sachsen class frigates, they are the mainstay of the German surface fleet.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness force comprising land, air, sea and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly. Until February 2022, when NATO activated it in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, units assigned to the NRF had only been used to assist with disaster relief and security at high-profile security events. On 25 February 2022 after a NATO meeting, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) was activated for the defense of members of the alliance, for the first time. The NRF currently comprises up to 40,000 troops[2] and will be increased to over 300,000 troops.
Last year, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) was led by France and this year the task will be headed by the German forces. Other allied countries to contribute to this VJTF initiative include Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and Slovenia. Along with the maritime force, Germany is also deploying nearly 11,500 land troops to join the VJTF. The deployed land troops are from different German Armed Forces’ units including Panzerbataillon 393, Artillerielehrbataillon 345, Versorgungsbataillon 131 and Transporthubschrauberregiment 30.
