On Tuesday 15 September 2015, the German P-3C Orion, Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) joined Operation Atalanta.
Led by Commander Bodo Ahlers, the German contingent of P-3C Orion is currently based in Djibouti, and patrols the coast of Somalia, providing a detailed picture and up to date information of the coastal region.
Commander Ahlers said: “The P-3C Orion is perfect for this operation, in that it is quick to react to a situation and has a highly trained crew to analyse the information that it collects to support the counter-piracy mission.”