During this two-month mission, the frigate will successively participate in the NATO exercise FORMIDABLE SHIELD 23 in the Atlantic and North Sea, and in the FLOTEX 23 exercise organized by the Spanish Armada, bringing together an international fleet and aimed at implementing the operational capabilities of each country.
During this deployment, Chevalier Paul will be integrated into NATO operations in the Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean. In addition, the mission of the Toulon ship will also be to ensure an autonomous situation assessment of the area and to maintain a high level of cooperation with the Allied navies.
Taking advantage of a transit valued jointly between Gibraltar and Brest, the air defense frigate Chevalier Paul and the Italian multi-mission frigate Carlo Margottini carried out training on April 27 in the Bay of Biscay in the fields of tactical data links, helicopter implementation, 76 mm firing on low-altitude air target, air defense and communications.
The Chevalier Paul and the Carlo Magottini carried out a simulated air defense exercise, preceded by a landing exercise allowing the commander of the French frigate to go to the Italian frigate, before five sailors from each frigate discovered the other unit in the afternoon. Thus, during these two days, the frigates exchanged on their mutual know-how.
On 28 April, joined by Brittany, the crossing to Brest ended with an air defense exercise with the assistance of Rafale Marine aircraft from the Landivisiau naval aeronautical base (BAN) as part of the ramp-up of naval cooperative watch, which is one of the axes of technical innovation in terms of data links and tactical situation exchange.