Misplaced Pages

Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime)
HMS Albion (the then Fleet Flagship), RFA Fort Rosalie and HMS Ocean of the RFTG conducting replenishment at sea during Cougar 11
Active	2010–present
Country	United Kingdom (under the Joint Expeditionary Force if required)
Branch	Royal Navy
Role	Expeditionary
Part of	Joint Expeditionary Force
Commanders
Current commander	Commander Littoral Strike Group

His Majesty's Naval Service of the British Armed Forces
Components
Royal Navy Surface Fleet Fleet Air Arm Submarine Service Royal Naval Reserve Royal Navy Medical Service Nursing Service (QARNNS) Chaplaincy Royal Navy Police Royal Marines Royal Marines Reserve Royal Marines Band Service Organisation Equipment Uniforms Special Forces Special Boat Service Naval Careers Service
History and future
before 1707 / after 1707 / future History of the Royal Marines Coloured squadrons Customs and traditions Flag officer command flags
Operations
Current deployments Naval parties Shore establishments
Equipment
Current fleet Historic ships Equipment
Personnel
The Admiralty Senior officers Uniforms Officer / ratings rank insignia
Auxiliary services
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Marine Services
v t e

The Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (or JEF(M)) (formerly the Response Force Task Group (RFTG), and prior to that the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF)), is the Royal Navy's contribution to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) maintained at very high-readiness and available at short notice to respond to unexpected global events. In addition to the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, the JEF(M) also includes elements of the British Army and the Royal Air Force. While it is primarily poised to conduct war-fighting or strike operations, the JEF(M) is capable of undertaking a diverse range of activities such as evacuation operations, disaster relief or humanitarian aid.

Under the name of RFTG, this high-readiness Maritime Task Group was established under the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, and was initially focused on periodic deployments centered around amphibious shipping, initially termed Cougar deployments, but now named according to the focus of the main activity; although not mandated as an annual activity, these deployments tend to alternate between operating in North West Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, and deploying East of Suez to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. On these deployments, the Task Group regularly conducts exercises with allies and partners. As a Task Group, the RFTG was activated on operations during the 2011 Libyan Civil War, provided humanitarian aid during Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, and elements were activated to deploy to the Caribbean in 2020 under an augmented Atlantic Patrol Task (North) deployment.

As of late 2024, the U.K.'s capacity to make major contributions to JEF(M) was brought into question with the decision by the newly-elected Labour government to retire both of the Royal Navy's Albion-class landing platform dock vessels by March 2025. Simultaneously, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary was suffering severe crewing problems, as well as a labour force disruption, meaning the manning of its three Bay-class landing ship dock vessels was facing serious challenges. This brought into question the entire concept of the navy's ability to conduct even medium-sized amphibious operations.

Command structure

The JEF(M) is usually commanded at sea by an officer the rank of Commodore, who can be either the Commander of the UK Littoral Strike Group (COMLSG, formerly named COMATG) or Commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group (COMCSG), depending on the focus of the deployment; the Command Platform will be either an Albion-class LPD or a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. For a major deployment of the JEF(M) (acting as a Task Force, consisting of more than one Task Group), the formation will be commanded by Commander United Kingdom Strike Forces (COMUKSTRKFOR) who is responsible for directing "UK, Allied or Coalition maritime forces anywhere in the world".

In the RFTG era, Command of the Task Group was usually (but not exclusively) exercised by the Commander of the Amphibious Task Group (COMATG), renamed as Commander UK Task Group (COMUKTG) from 2011 to 2015. Since 2015, periodic deployments have continued this pattern, with all recent iterations being commanded by COMATG (now termed COMLSG), but since the introduction into Royal Navy service of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, it is likely that future deployments of the JEF(M) will be under the afloat Command of COMCSG.

Composition

The "scaleable nature" of the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) means the Royal Navy has assigned a wide range of assets to the force, with its composition changing depending on the scenario and the range of ships available.

Operational history

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2018)

Cougar 11 deployment

In April 2011, the Response Force Task Group deployed for the first time since its announced establishment in October 2010. The deployment was "designed to demonstrate the versatile capabilities and high readiness" of the Response Force Task Group and engage with foreign allies in the Mediterranean Sea and East of Suez. On 9 May (en route to Cyprus), seven senior NCOs and the Officer Commanding the Support Troop from 6 Assault Squadron Royal Marines held a service of remembrance at the Souda Bay Commonwealth Grave site in Crete to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the bitter battle for the island. Cougar 11 saw, for the first time, British Army AgustaWestland Apache attack helicopters operating from the decks of a Royal Navy warship, HMS Ocean.

During the deployment the RFTG was involved in several multinational exercises: The first was 'Cypriot Lion' which included Royal Marines from 40 Commando, elements of 3 Commando Brigade HQ and a detachment from the Netherlands Marine Corps. The second major exercise was code-named 'Albanian Lion', a joint UK-Albanian military exercise and the first joint operation between the UK and the Albanian Armed Forces since Albania joined NATO in 2009. The third major exercise was code-named 'Operation Red Alligator', described as a "major maritime security and anti-piracy exercise", it took place in the Persian Gulf with the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia.

With the ongoing Civil War in Libya, on the 3 June 2011, five ships of the Response Force Task Group were temporarily detached and deployed off the Libyan coast as part of Operation Ellamy. Ocean launched repeated Apache gunships strikes from her flight deck and worked alongside the French amphibious assault ship Tonnerre, which deployed her own Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. HMS Triumph (a nuclear-powered fleet submarine) fired her Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles at Libyan air defence and command and control centres. Analysts believe that in total more than 15 cruise missiles were fired by the submarine during the operations.

Cougar 11 composition:

Cougar 12 deployment

Cougar 12 saw Response Force Task Group deploy six ships and more than 3,000 marines and sailors to the Mediterranean in early October 2012. One of the principle purposes of the deployment was to conduct large-scale amphibious exercises with participating allies. Key exercises included: 'Corsican Lion' with France; 'Albanian Lion' with Albania; a visit to Malta and exercises with the United States Navy and the Algerian Armed Forces.

Commander UK Task Group, Commodore Paddy McAlpine said: "Cougar 12 provides us with a superb opportunity to rekindle our amphibious capability after a prolonged period when our focus has been on operations elsewhere." Exercise 'Corsican Lion' was the main focus of Cougar 12 and was designed to towards developing the maritime and amphibious components of the Anglo-French Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF). The exercise involved the Response Force Task Group working directly alongside the French Navy's Task Force 473 and the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

Head of the RFTG's amphibious operations, Brigadier Martin Smith of 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, was quoted saying: "It is an incredibly versatile force and our burgeoning interoperability with the French further proves this. The quality of Royal Marines Commandos and French Marines delivers a highly effective first response capability which is optimised for early entry operations."

Cougar 12 composition:

Cougar 13 deployment

Cougar 13 deployed during the early autumn of 2013. In the Mediterranean, Response Force Task Group held exercises with the Portuguese Marine Corps and once again conducted exercise 'Albanian Lion' with the Albanian Armed Forces. Anti-surface exercises were also held with the Hellenic Navy and anti-submarine drills with the Italian Navy.

During mid September 2013, Response Force Task Group deployed East of Suez for the second phase of the Cougar 13 deployment where it linked up with the Royal Saudi Navy for exercise 'Red Alligator'. While East of Suez, a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey from USS Kearsarge landed on Illustrious in a joint exercise with the United States Navy. Likewise, Illustrious's Army Air Corps Westland Lynx and Westland Sea Kings dropped in on Kearsarge, carrying a few passengers to get a brief insight into the American LHD. In the Gulf of Oman, Response Force Task Group conducted anti-submarine drills against USS Dallas. HMS Quorn briefly met up with the RFTG for exercise 'Sea Khanjar'. Exercise 'Sea Khanjar' was observed by Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Philip Jones, Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Ed Davis, Lieutenant General Mike Hindmarsh and Commander United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard Marines, Colonel A Al-Tenaji.

When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013, HMS Illustrious was ordered to detach from the Response Force Task Group and assist in the disaster relief efforts. The mission was known as Operation Patwin, HMS Daring was already in the Far East when the tragedy struck and was swiftly able to provide humanitarian aid.

Cougar 13 composition:

Cougar 14 deployment

The RFTG departed on Cougar 14 during early September 2014 for a four-month deployment scheduled to conduct exercises and engage with foreign navies in the Mediterranean and East of Suez in the (Persian) Gulf and Indian Ocean. Notable international warships that took the opportunity to rendezvous and participate with Cougar 14 were USS Makin Island, USS San Diego and the French ships Courbet and Dixmude.

The first phase of Cougar 14 was exercise Albanian Lion 2014, followed by exercise Dragon Hammer 2014, concluding by 17 October 2014. Several ships also broke off to participate in the middle-eastern IMCMEX exercise. Once completed, they regrouped with the Cougar 14 Task Group for further exercises in the region.

During December 2014 on the return journey to Britain, Bulwark and Lyme Bay conducted exercise Sea Snake, where Royal Marines from 40 Commando and 4 Assault Squadron 'stormed' the beaches of Gibraltar during amphibious landings.

Cougar 14 composition:

Cougar 15 deployment

Cougar 15 took place alongside the larger NATO wide exercise Trident Juncture 15. Trident Juncture is a key exercise for the Royal Navy, as the country will take command of NATO's Very High Readiness Task Force in 2016. Trident Juncture 15 consisted of over 36,000 personnel and 70 warships from several NATO and allied nations. The exercise saw both the COMUKMARFOR Rear Admiral Radkin and COMUKTG Commodore Connell deploy on HMS Ocean and HMS Bulwark respectively. Bulwark deployed with almost 100 extra Royal Marines from across 3 Commando Brigade, and over 100 specialist personnel required to command the Task Group and its activities.

One of the first exercises during Cougar 15 was Corsica Lion, where Bulwark, Ocean, MV Hartland Point and the French Navy's Dixmude practised rescuing "civilians" off the northern coast of Corsica. The RFTG also exercised with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. As part of Cougar 15, United States Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys flew off Ocean during Exercise Blue Raptor, transporting Royal Marines from ship to shore. This exercised ended around 24 November 2015. Bulwark temporarily remained in Malta along with HMS Somerset to provide security for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015. This security arrangement ended with Queen Elizabeth II visiting Bulwark and the ship returned to its home port on 7 December 2015.

Cougar 15 composition:

Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) 16

In September 2016, HMS Bulwark (as flagship), HMS Ocean, embarked with helicopters from 845 Naval Air Squadron, No. 662 Squadron AAC and No. 27 Squadron RAF, and elements of 3 Commando Brigade HQ Royal Marines, RFA Mounts Bay and MV Eddystone Point, deployed on the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) 2016. After exercising in the Mediterranean, the JEF(M) then sailed to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, whereupon Commander Amphibious Task Group Commodore Andrew Burns shifted his broad pennant from HMS Bulwark to HMS Ocean so that he could assume command of the United States Fifth Fleet Task Force 50 until March 2017.

JEF (M) 16 composition:

Amphibious Task Group 18 (ATG18) deployment

In April 2018, it was announced that HMS Albion was being sent to the Far East to conduct UNSCR enforcement operations against North Korea, upon completion of which, the ship headed west to commence her participation in the Amphibious Task Group 18 (ATG18) deployment. With embarked battlestaff from COMLSG and HQ 3 Commando Brigade embarked, she rendezvoused with RFA Lyme Bay, RFA Cardigan Bay, and HMS Dragon, as well as elements from the Royal Navy of Oman, to conduct Exercise Saif Sareea 3 in October and November 2018.

ATG18 composition:

BALTIC PROTECTOR 19 deployment

BALTIC PROTECTOR 19 composition:

Baltic Sea deployment 2023

On the 28th of November 2023, it was announced that JEF(M) would deploy to patrol the Baltic Sea. Sweden announced that it would participate with two Visby-class corvettes.

See also

• Commander UK Strike Forces
• Commander Littoral Strike Group
• Joint Expeditionary Force
• Combined Joint Expeditionary Force
• Joint Rapid Reaction Force

References

1. The Response Force Task Group (RFTG) – The UK's Very High Readiness Maritime Force, Royal Navy (PDF), Retrieved 3 June 2014
2. Royal Navy ready for unforeseen global events, gov.uk, 9 May 2011
3. HMS Bulwark prepares for major deployment, gov.uk, 15 September 2016
4. "Royal Marines under the wing of Ospreys on joint exercises in the Mediterranean". thecourier.co.uk. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
5. "UK Royal Navy elements conduct amphibious landings training". Naval-technology.com. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
6. Vock, Ido (20 November 2024). "UK to decommission ships, drones and helicopters to save £500m". BBC.
7. Sharpe, Tom (26 September 2024). "Hey, Starmer and Reeves. This group of public sector workers really deserves a pay rise". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
8. "RFA Fort Victoria to be placed in long-term lay up". Navy Lookout. 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
9. "Royal Navy finished as full-spectrum force as Albion and Bulwark axed". Naval News. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
10. Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces (archive), nationalarchives.gov.uk, Retrieved 3 June 2014
11. Royal Navy sails for annual ‘Cougar’ deployment, royalnavy.mod.uk, 9 August 2013
12. ^ Royal Navy Task Force departs on Cougar 14, royalnavy.mod.uk, 1 September 2014
13. Rosamond, Jon (11 September 2019). "DSEI: Royal Marines Embrace Littoral Strike and Prepare to Forward Deploy". USNI News. London. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
14. Royal Navy Cougar 11 Force begins exercises off Cyprus, gov.uk, 13 May 2011
15. Task Group Link Up For Exercise In Cyprus, navynews.co.uk
16. Army's Apache fires first Hellfire missiles at sea, mod.uk, 13 May 2011
17. Precise Media Planner, Joint UK-Albanian military exercise 'Albanian Lion' begins, Precise Media Planner, May 26, 2011
18. Cougar task group sharpens its teeth in Saudi Arabia, navynews.co.uk
19. Task Force Sent To Libya To Ratchet Up The Pressure On Gaddafi, navynews.co.uk Archived March 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
20. "NATO Uses Attack Helicopters for First Time in Libya". Fox News. 4 June 2011.
21. "No end in sight as RAF marks 100 days over Libya". BBC News. 4 October 2011.
22. Global Operations COUGAR, royal-navy.mod.uk
23. ^ Naval force gears up for Cougar 12, gov.uk, 27 September 2012
24. ^ Royal Marines face French counterparts in Exercise Corsican Lion, gov.uk, 23 October 2012
25. HMS Bulwark Portuguese Marines, royalnavy.mod.uk
26. Warship practises hunter-killer scenario with Greek navy, royalnavy.mod.uk, 29 August 2013
27. HMS Westminster practises submarine hunting skills, royalnavy.mod.uk, 3 September 2013
28. Cougar wrestles with Alligator as task group exercises with Saudis, navynews.co.uk, 18 September 2013
29. ‘A little bit special’ – unique US aircraft lands on Illustrious, navynews.co.uk, 19 September 2013
30. HMS Westminster in hunt for USS Dallas, royalnavy.mod.uk, 3 October 2013
31. HMS Quorn guides task group safely through troubled waters, royalnavy.mod.uk, 10 October 2013
32. The RFTG completes Exercise Sea Khanjar in UAE, royalnavy.mod.uk, 15 October 2013
33. British carrier HMS Illustrious to aid typhoon victims, bbc.com, 14 November 2013
34. Operation Patwin, royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 2014
35. Royal Navy sails for annual ‘Cougar’ deployment, royalnavy.mod.uk, 09/08/2013
36. Royal Navy set for Cougar 13, gov.uk, 8 August 2013
37. Supply meets demand on Cougar 13, royalnavy.mod.uk, 30 August 2013
38. Bulwark tries out Osprey, royalnavy.mod.uk, 22 October 2014
39. Sea King a French Connection, royalnavy.mod.uk, 22 October 2014
40. "Albanian Lion 2014" exercise opening ceremony conducted Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, aaf.mil.al, 8 September 2014
41. HMS Bulwark leads ten-ship task group on Gulf exercise, royalnavy.mod.uk, 7 November 2014
42. Core of Royal Navy's Middle East presence joins massive international minehunting exercise, royalnavy.mod.uk, 6 November 2014
43. Royal Marines storm beach as part of Exercise Sea Snake, royalnavy.mod.uk, 10 December 2014
44. German frigate visits London, royalnavy.mod.uk, 24 January 2014
45. NATO warships gather for "class" photo, royalnavy.mod.uk, 30/10/2015
46. Bulwark feeds’ The Christmas Pudding, royalnavy.mod.uk, 25/11/2015
47. Corsican evacuation tests Anglo-French Task Group, royalnavy.mod.uk, 16/10/2015
48. Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO exercises with British Task Group COUGAR following Barcelona port visit, mc.nato.int, 16/10/2015
49. New addition to HMS Ocean's flightdeck, royalnavy.mod.uk, 13/11/2015
50. Partner nations storm the Corsican beaches, royalnavy.mod.uk, 24/11/2015
51. UK military supports Maltese security operation for 2015 Commonwealth meeting, gov.uk, 227 November 2015
52. ^ "A Royal send off in Malta – Royal Navy". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
53. "HMS Bulwark returns to Plymouth – Royal Navy". Retrieved 30 July 2016.
54. RAF ODIHAM – Cougar 15, raf.mod.uk, 13 October 2015
55. "HMS Ocean deploys on joint expeditionary force". Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
56. "Britain sends third warship to Asia Pacific to monitor North Korea". Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
57. "On the ground with Saif Sareea 3 - Oman's largest ever joint drill". Times of Oman. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
58. Nyheter, S. V. T. (28 November 2023). "Beslutet: JEF ska patrullera Östersjön med 20-tal fartyg". SVT Nyheter.

External links

• Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (Royal Navy website, last accessed 13 May 20)

• Royal Navy
• British military exercises
• Expeditionary units and formations