Royal Navy frigate bound for Asia stops in Gibraltar

The Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll conducted a patrol of British Gibraltar territorial waters as she sailed into Gibraltar yesterday for a short logistical stop en route to a deployment in Asia.

The Plymouth-based Type 23 frigate is on a nine-month far reaching deployment that will include activity in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Far East including Japan.

During her visit to Tokyo in 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and announced that a UK warship would visit Japan and undertake military exercises with the Japanese Defence Force.

HMS Argyll will also take part in the Five Powers Defence Agreement exercise ‘Bersama Lima’ in October.

HMS Argyll, with 230 crew members, will be the first Royal Navy warship to deploy with Sea Ceptor, a supersonic missile defence system developed for the Royal Navy by MBDA Missile Systems, a partnership between BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica.

The ship is also carrying the Wildcat HMA Mk2 helicopter built by Leonardo Helicopters UK.

The multi-role military helicopter provides surveillance and weapons capability to the ship, covering a vast area beyond the ship’s sensors and weapons.

Main pic by @columbia107