Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standing maritime immediate reaction force. SNMG2 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.

History

Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED) was activated on 30 April 1992, at

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy. STANAVFORMED was the successor to the NATO Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean (NAVOCFORMED) – which had been periodically activated for more than 20 years. During the 1990s, STANAVFORMED was heavily involved in Operation Maritime Monitor (July 1992 to November 1992), Operation Maritime Guard (November 1992 to June 1993) and Operation Sharp Guard (June 1993 to October 1996), the maritime embargo operations in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

established to ensure compliance by

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

with

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN) resolutions 713, 715, 787, 820 and 943. Between November 1992 and June 1996 some 74,000 ships were challenged, almost 6,000 were inspected at sea and more than 1,400 were diverted and inspected in port. On 6 October 2001, STANAVFORMED deployed to the Eastern

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

in support of Operation Active Endeavour, NATO's maritime contribution to prevent the movement of terrorists or

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...

. The force was re-designated Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in January 2005. From June 2009 to August 2009 SNMG2 was deployed by NATO off the Somali coast to conduct Operation Allied Protector, to deter, defend and protect World Food Programme (WFP) vessels against the threat of piracy and armed robbery, thereby allowing WFP to fulfill its mission of providing humanitarian aid.''Counter-piracy Operations.''
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Retrieved: 27 December 2013. Since August 2009, SNMG2 has been providing ships for NATO's Operation Ocean Shield anti- piracy mission in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

. In 2019, SNMG2 was tasked with patrol of the

and Black Sea. In 2021, SNMG2 took part in Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 in the Black Sea, co-hosted by the Ukrainian Navy and the United States Sixth Fleet.

Current ships

As of 3 January 2025, SNMG2 consists of: Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force

Previous task groups

As of 20 January 2024, SNMG2 consisted of: Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force As of 16 February 2023, SNMG2 consisted of: Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force In 2022, SNMG2 consisted of: Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force In 2021, SNMG2 consisted of:

History

Current ships

Previous task groups

Organization

See also

References

External links