Frag Out! Magazine

Many of us still reMeMber the tragedy of the ru sian 'KursK' ssbn, which sanK to the bottoM after sustaining daMage, while the survivors of the initial disaster struggled for dear life, waiting in vain for the rescue. as a consequence international nato (and other countries') rescue force exercise is being held tri-annually, this year hosted by Poland and held in the bay of gdansK. The Dynamic monarch 2014 was helD beT ween may 9 anD 23, , with vessels from sweDen, neTherlanDs, Germany and PolanD participating. On their boards rescue teams from these and other countries – even as far as Australia – were taking part in the exercise. The objective of these tri-annually held exercise is to perfect the submarine rescue and recovery procedures. These year amongst the 'rescued' subs were Polish ORP Sęp, Swedish HSwMS Halland and Dutch HNLMS Bruinvis. The rescue flotilla comprised of Polish ORP Piast, Dutch HNLMS Mercuur and Swedish HSwMS Belos. The command ship of the rescue flotilla was German FGS Main logistic ves- sel. Unfortunately, due to the straining international situation Russia did not sent the scheduled Kilo-Class submarine and rescue vessel. Theirs was not the only absence from this year's exercise: technical problems excluded two rescue systems, an American and a Swedish one. These reduced the underwater rescue vessel assistance to the NATO's own NSRS, usually waiting for a call in Scotland, and for the duration of the Monarch transferred to the Swedish HSwMS Belos. The NSRS was specifically designed to fit into the cargo hold of the NATO's heaviest transport aircraft, Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs or Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxies, which enables quick air transfer to the area where the stricken sub is located, and later on, it is based on a surface vessel. Swedish ship is one of a handful worldwide specifically modified to host the system, and can be refitted to operate it within hours. Swedish submarine HSwMS Halland www.fragoutmag.com

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