EU Naval Force - Somalia
Operation ATALANTA

On Wednesday 18 June, the Luxembourg’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance (MPRA) Detachment participated in the Seychelles National Day Ceremony.  Two Merlin aircraft conducted a fly-past over the National Sport Stadium in front of President James Michel and some 5,000 spectators.

The Luxembourg MPRA Detachment has been deployed in the Seychelles since October 2009 as Luxembourg’s contribution to the EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta.

Based in the Seychelles, with temporary deployments to Mombasa and Mayotte, the Luxembourg MPRA team has flown some 6,000 hours since the start of their participation.

As well as being involved in the successful disruption of Pirate Action Groups, it has also provided aerial assistance during several Search and Rescue missions in the region.