Yokel
LE
You could turn that around and ask why should they care. Which would mean explaining routine things such as keeping tabs on less than friendly submarines or intercepting less than friendly aircraft. Why wait for the BBC/Sky/Chris Terill to do it? This would also stop the Russians et al from bring able to spread misinformation.
Perhaps saying things like this will help?
For all the capability of Duncan and other major warships, they – and any merchant shipping – are vulnerable to sea mines, just as shipping was through both world wars and, more recently, the ‘tanker war’ in the Gulf in the 1980s.
The scenario saw a minefield placed across a simulated narrow chokepoint which, when coupled with the risk of attack from hostile aircraft and fast attack craft, combined to present a formidable obstacle to the passage of ships.
It’s a realistic scenario which either warships or merchant vessels might face around the world.
Seven NATO warships from four countries proved their ability to overcome this complex challenge during the exercise.
A chokepoint – a narrow passage of water where freedom of manoeuvre is limited – funnels high volumes of traffic through a confined space, making them vulnerable to attack from land or water-based foe… and can be relatively easily blocked by sowing mines… costing the global economy millions of pounds every minute.
Hence NATO navies need to be ready to react to keep these vital strategic shipping routes open.
“Both the world economy and our daily existence are utterly reliant on merchant shipping. It is vital that we are able to keep these strategic routes open such that merchant vessels are able to pass through them safely,” said Commodore Paul Stroude, Commander of Maritime Group 2.
From: HMS Duncan’s NATO task group clears through simulated minefield
I fear that if the exercise had involved one of the carriers launching jets to fend of simulated air attacks, the PR people would have managed to portray the exercise as being all about defending the carrier.
