laststandonzombieisland

We’ve covered the hectic op-tempo of the Portuguese Navy’s submarine force a few times in recent years. Their pair of very modern fuel cell AIP variants of the German Type 209PN/Type 214PNs, including NRP Tridente (S160) and NRP Arpão (S161), in particular, have been clocking in around the globe, with the latter accomplishing a 120-day patrol last year that included transiting the length of the African continent, while completely submerged, in just 15 days.

Well, Arpão, just left Portugal on 3 April for another 70-day stint as part of NATO’s Operation Brilliant Shield, with her first stop being the frigid waters of the Davis Strait off Greenland where she will be the first submarine of the Marinha Portuguesa to navigate under the Arctic ice, where she will be in operations with the militaries of Canada, Denmark, and the U.S.

After lengthy practice dives, she made a port call at Gl.atlantkaj, Godthab, Greenland on 26 April.

Danish Arktisk Kommando (Joint Arctic Command) has said in a statement that the 1,800-ton Knud Rasmussen class patrol vessel HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen (P571) acted as her support ship. She may also be an OPFOR, as the little vessel carries what has been described as a “mine-avoidance sonar” and has a fit for possible MU90 Impact ASW torpedoes.

Mikkelsen has also been hosting a Danish Navy MH-60R Seahawk helicopter of 723 Sqn off and on.

Meanwhile, in the nearby Faeroes Islands, NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose is going on with 10 ships, 5 submarines and 9 aircraft, including the Danish 3,500-ton Thetis class OPV HDMS Hvidbjørnen (F360)-– with a SaabTech CTS-36 hull-mounted active sonar and towed Thomson Sintra TSM 2640 Salmon variable depth passive sonar– as well as the Faroese Fisheries Patrol (Fiskimanlastyrid) vessel Brimil out of Torshaven.

This comes as the Danish parliament has proposed a defense update that will include plans to put more Mark 54 ASW torpedoes on more platforms (which they have fielded since 2018) and call up 5,000 conscripts a year from 2026 (including women), up from the current 4,700, on six-to-nine-month tours.