On 30 March, the tripartite minehunter (CMT) Andromeda returned to her homeport of Brest, closing its North Atlantic deployment. In two months of mission, the CMT crew will have covered more than 5,300 nautical miles and spent 15 days beyond the polar circle.
This mission, carried out in the harsh conditions of the North Atlantic during the winter period, will have taken the Andromeda and its crew from the landing beaches to the northern tip of Norway.
These eight weeks were marked by demanding navigation in the Norwegian fjords for more than 2,000 nautical miles and punctuated by the discovery off the Normandy coast of a Luft Marine Bomb (LMB) type bottom mine dating from the Second World War. The high point of the mission was the participation of the CMT in the major NATO exercise : Steadfast Defender . This unprecedented maneuver in 30 years mobilizes nearly 90,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Alliance forces for several months.
During this exercise, the Andromeda sailed in concert with the buildings of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 ( SNMCMG1 ), thus consolidating interoperability within the group and promoting French expertise in mine warfare.