Royal Navy frigate heads for Finland for centenary celebrations

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Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose is scheduled to visit Finland to take part in joint drills and attend the Finnish Navy’s centenary celebrations. 

Royal Navy file photo of HMS Montrose at sea

Prior to arriving to the Finnish port of Turku, Montrose will conduct two days of exercises in the Northern Baltic Sea.

The exercise, which will start July 6, will be led by Finnish Navy Commander Kaarle Wikström, Commander of the 7th Surface Warfare Squadron. Minelayer Hämeenmaa, two Hamina-class missile boats Hanko and Pori, and Pansio-class minelayer Pyhäranta will be joining the frigate for the drills.

After two days of exercises, HMS Montrose will arrive in Turku where the Finnish Navy will be celebrating its 100th centenary from July 8 to 9.

HMS Montrose is operating in the Baltic Sea after undergoing a mid-life upgrade in July 2017 and taking part in exercise Joint Warrior in April this year. Most recently, HMS Montrose escorted two Russian corvettes as they transited through the English Channel from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea.