HMCS Ville de Québec departs Halifax to take part in Operation HORIZON

The HMCS Ville de Quebec left Halifax for a seven-month deployment on Monday.

HMCS Ville de Québec set sail for the Indo-Pacific region Monday to take part in Operation HORIZON.

The ship’s crew of about 240 members, including Royal Canadian Navy sailors and Royal Canadian Air Force aviators, bid farewell to their loved ones as HMCS Ville de Québec left from Halifax.

“For those serving in His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ville de Québec, today’s departure has been well over a year in the making. The crew has worked incredibly hard to get the ship ready for Operation HORIZON, and to represent Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy globally—with some of the absolute finest people Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces has to offer,” said Commander Peter MacNeil, Commanding Officer HMCS Ville de Québec, in a news release from the Royal Canadian Navy.

“This incredible deployment would not be possible without the tremendous support of our families, the determination of the organizations ashore, and the resolve of the entire Royal Canadian Navy’s Atlantic Fleet. Without them, we would not have been able to get to where we are today.”

HMCS Ville de Québec’s role will be to help promote peace, stability and rules-based international order. The ship will join the United Kingdom’s multinational Carrier Strike Group (CSG) off the coasts of Europe and proceed to the Indo-Pacific region.

“The UK CSG will bring together like-minded partners from around the globe in a demonstration of military interoperability in support of European security and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” reads the news release.

“The complex security environment in the Indo-Pacific, with linkages to Arctic and Euro-Atlantic security, demands that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) remain an active and reliable partner that contributes to peace and security in the region.”

The Royal Canadian Navy says Operation HORIZON demonstrates its ability to “sustain naval operations in the Indo-Pacific.”

“Canada’s commitment to global collaboration and broader diplomatic and military partnerships is strengthened by working alongside international allies and like-minded partners,” reads the release.

“We are going to conduct anti-submarine warfare serials and lots of exercise training. Being with the carrier we have the opportunity to do lots of live tracking with live aircraft and essentially improve the training and readiness across the navy,” says MacNeil.

To improve coordination with Canada’s allies, HMCS Ville de Québec will sail with “innovative digital technology” to develop “advanced, comprehensive command and control systems that enhance data-driven decision-making and operational actions.”

“The crew of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ville de Québec is highly trained and ready to face any challenge. Integrating into this Royal Navy Carrier Strike Group strengthens our strategic partnerships and demonstrates our unwavering commitment to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world,” said Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee in the release.

According to the Royal Canadian Navy, Operation HORIZON implements the defence elements of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy by:

• deploying more military forces to the region
• participating in more multilateral exercises
• strengthening military-to-military cooperation

HMCS Ville de Québec will integrate into several phases of the United Kingdom’s upcoming CSG deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.

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