HMS Protector Participates In Unitas Exercise

The Royal Navy’s icebreaker swapped polar scientific work for pulsating boarding operations off the Chilean coastline. HMS Protector is heading towards the Antarctic after a mission in Canada’s Hudson Bay but before that sailed south for Chile to take part in the longest running military exercise in the world.

The 65th edition of Unitas – Latin for unity – saw 19 warships, 19 aircraft and 4,300 personnel from 24 nations work on a range of traditional warfare operations, but also focused on cyber and information battlegrounds.

It was the largest Unitas since it all began in 1959, with ships scattered 2,000 miles from the Strait of Magellan and Drake’s Passage between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica to Puerto Aldea further up Chile’s 4,000-mile-long coastline.

Protector was at the heart of the naval task force – standing out in her red and white livery against the grey navy warships – and primarily played host to boarding operations, with US, Chilean, Mexican and Colombian troops landing and clearing through the ship.

The polar patrol ship simulated the role of a civilian vessel smuggling weapons and arms with one of the ship’s company playing the role of ‘Pablo the smuggler’, whom boarding teams had to chase down and capture. 

The aim of Unitas is to bring together South American and partner forces to promote stability and security across the continent.

Commander Mark Vartan, Protector’s Executive Officer, said: “It was a unique opportunity to represent the Royal Navy and Great Britain in the longest-running multi-national maritime exercise anywhere in the world. 

“Building new relationships and reinforcing longstanding associations in an area of the globe that the RN rarely now has the opportunity to visit, will have been a first for many of the ship’s company. 

“The ‘Red and White’ amongst the ‘Greys’ certainly delivered an effect in terms of photographic opportunity and was an easy conversation “icebreaker” (if you will excuse the pun) at the various social and sporting events. 

“All nations present demonstrated professionalism and esprit de corps with an infectious camaraderie and genuine warmth which will be remembered for many years to come.”

Unitas was an opportunity for the Royal Navy to build deeper bonds with long-standing partners and showcase the vital research work Protector undertakes in the Antarctic every year.

Protector deployed to Chile from Quebec, making a 40-day, 5,800 nautical mile voyage south through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal, crossing the Equator and then down to Valparaíso, a port city looking out across the Pacific, and home to the Chilean Navy. 

To read more, please visit the Royal Navy's website