SPANISH WARSHIP A04

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Roro ship scuttled during sinkex

The Spanish Navy Sinkex 23 Exercise, in which the ''Martín Posadillo' (IMO: 7332361) was scuttled, took place on June 29 and 30, 2023, in Canary Islands waters, and was attended by King Felipe VI. The following units participated in the exercise: the frigates 'Juan Carlos I', 'Méndez Núñez' and 'Canarias', an AV-8B aircraft from the 9th Squadron and SH-60F helicopters from the 10th Squadron, the 'Rélámpago' and 'Rayo', the patrol boat 'Centinela' and the 'Mar Caribe'. In addition, a medium-speed Cessna Citation aircraft from the fourth squadron and a maritime surveillance aircraft from the Air Force and Space D-4 participated. At the end of the exercise, it was verified that the target ships have been sunk so that they did not constitute any danger to navigation. During the exercise, the coordinated launch of anti-ship missiles from the 'Méndez Núñez' and 'Canarias' and from an SH-60B helicopter sank the 'Martín Posadillo'. The logistics ship was withdrawn from service in 2020. A Harpoon missile from the frigate 'Méndez Núñez' struck the former transport ship, which was target number 1 (B1) of the exercise. The 'Martín Posadillo' had previously installed an AIS transceiver by Navantia, which facilitated monitoring of her position. She was towed from Cartagena to the exercise area by the 'Mar Caribe', with an intermediate stop in Las Palmas for verification and last adjustments by Navantia of the AIS systems and cameras installed. Report with photos and video: https://www.eldebate.com/espana/defensa/20230721/impresionante-hundimiento-buque-misil-desde-fragata-canarias_129627.html

Transport ship will be scuttled in Sinkex

A torpedo from the Spanish submarine "S-81-Isaac Peral" will put an end to the existence of the "Martín Posadillo", 1923 gt (IMO: 7332361), which was built as the roro ship 'Riva Nervion' in 1973 and removed in December 2020 from the Official List of Spanish Navy Ships and since then has been moored and unarmed in the port of Cartagena. The sinkex will go ahead next year, in the first operational exercise of the new submarine, planned jointly with other air-naval units south of the Canary Islands. The "Martín Posadillo" will be carefully cleaned before being used as a naval target, as other Navy ships were in the past, such as the destroyer "Churruca", in maneuvers in 1991 and the frigates "Catalonia", in 2007 and “Andalusia”, in 2008.

Chase off Gibraltar

The Royal Navy vessel HMS "Scimitar" was involved in an hour-long case with the "MArtin Posadillo" menacing British waters amid ongoing tensions with Gibraltar around the Rock on March 17, 2019. It was sailing for the nearby Spanish port of Algeciras, which is on the other side of Bay of Gibraltar – but ignored the three mile exclusive zone around the Rock. The Royal Navy boat which was dispatched to intercept Martin Posadillo as it passed through the waters of Gibraltar also issued a warning to a second Spanish vessel over the weekend, the patrol ship SVA "Decimo". The Royal Navy pursued the vessel as it spent an hour in British waters, before eventually returning to port. Report with photos and video: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/766102/gibraltar-spanish-warship-incursion-royal-navy-hms-scimitar-martin-posadillo-spain