Polish frigate ORP General Tadeusz Kosciuszko joined Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) on July 7.
The former U.S. Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, one of two in the Polish Navy, will spend the next few months under NATO flag providing support to NATO maritime activities.
ORP General Tadeusz Kosciuszko left homeport in Gdynia on June 29 and headed west through the Baltic Sea, crossed the Kiel Canal, the North Sea, Biscay Bay and the Mediterranean to meet with the NATO Maritime Group.
Kosciuszko joins the ships already deployed to the Aegean Sea to support Allies Greece and Turkey, as well as the European Union’s border agency Frontex, in their efforts to tackle the refugee and migrant crisis.
One of the frigate’s main tasks will be to conduct reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance in the Aegean. As part of SNMG2, Kosciuszko will provide real-time information to the coastguards and other national authorities.
This is the third time a Polish frigate has joined a NATO Standing Group – previously (in 2006 and 2008). ORP PULASKI served within SNMG1 during Operation Active Endeavour and since 2002 the Polish Navy has regularly dedicated mine hunters to Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1), and was twice (2010 and 2013) entrusted with the Command over one of the four Standing NATO Groups.