ESQUIMALT B.C. — The sea, land and sky of British Columbia will be filled with ships, troops and aircraft for Exercise Trident Fury May 8 to19. Over 2,000 personnel will be involved in the exercise, including a thousand visitors, which is anticipated to generate over $2 million in economic spin-offs for the community.
This exercise will build capability skills and expertise that can be deployed anywhere in the world, and allows the Canadian Forces (FC) to exercise its sovereignty at home and abroad. With the many challenges the province of BC poses, from fighting forest fires to search and rescue, this exercise represents an opportunity to enhance inter-agency cooperation.
The Canadian Navy will lead the exercise and will include participants from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), United Kingdom (UK), and units from Canada and the United States (US) in what will be the largest multi-national, joint and combined exercise held on the West Coast of Canada.
“Exercise Trident Fury provides an excellent training opportunity for the Canadian Forces,” said Commodore Bruce Donaldson, Commander of the Canadian Pacific Fleet. “This exercise is designed to validate tactics, to hone operator and team skills, and to enhance joint and allied interoperability in a challenging, littoral warfare environment,” he said.
Over 50 aircraft from NATO, UK, US and Canada will operate out of Victoria International Airport, 19 Wing Comox and the continental US. US Navy ships will join four Canadian Navy ships. In addition, the Canadian Army’s 74 Communications Group and 4 Air Defence Regiment will be deployed in the Chilkotin Region in the Coast Mountain Range to defend against simulated air attacks and to test communications, command and control links and interoperability.
Aircraft operating out of Victoria International Airport will fly two separate two-hour missions each day. Take offs will occur at approximately 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily. There will be no flying at night, and there are currently no flights planned on the May 13-14 weekend.
“We recognize that our airport plays a key role in the national security of our country. We are pleased to support the Trident Fury exercise,” said Richard Paquette, President and CEO of the Victoria Airport Authority.
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NOTE TO EDITORS/ NEWS DIRECTORS:
Limited opportunities for media to go to sea during the exercise are available; please contact Navy Public Affairs for more information. A separate Media Advisory will be distributed with information on other media events during the exercise.
