Tasks Performed. Apart from the relatively complex operations mentioned above, the LCCT primarily conducted patrols, reconnaissance and surveillance operations, and friendly approaches. Many of these activities were conducted from seaborne forward operating bases (FOBs), which was a new modus operandi for Operation Atalanta.181 A FOB would be set up at sea at a predefined location within the area of operations, and patrols and surveillance missions would be conducted and intelligence collected by smaller units from this location. For the purpose of this operation, the Dutch LCU was used as a FOB from which the CB90s and the FRISCs could operate. A FOB can be operational for several days and enables the boats to fuel up and stay overnight without going back to the main operating base (the Xxxxx xx Xxxx). FOBs therefore have the distinct advantage of increasing the geographical reach of the boats and making it possible to concentrate intelligence collection on a specific area within the area of operations for an extended period.182 The intelligence collected mainly consisted of information about activities in different areas along the Somali coast, including imagery, for example, of skiffs and dhows. Following FOB operations, the LCCT would be debriefed by the combined intelligence section on HNLMS Xxxxx xx Xxxx, to enable further analysis of the intelligence gathered (see section 4.2.3).183 The general view among the interviewees working in the LCCT was that they were prepared well, commensurate to performing the tasks assigned, and that in the grand scheme of things they were doing what they had expected to do.184 One officer in the LCCT, however, pointed out that the exact nature of the tasks they were to perform was not entirely clear prior to the mission, partly due to the renewal of the OPLAN, and that the number of reconnaissance operations and friendly approaches ended up being considerably higher than expected.185 The friendly approaches were usually carried out by Dutch personnel trained in HUMINT operations. In cases where the HUMINT team and its interpreter were not able to conduct friendly approaches, Swedish personnel did so in English. 180 Interview 27. 181 Swedish Armed Forces, 2015d “Den framskjutna grupperingsplatsen”, xxxx://xxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx/operationatalanta/2015/04/16/den-framskjutna-grupperingsplatsen/ (accessed 15 June 2015). 182 Swedish Armed Forces, 2015d. 183 Interview 27. 184 Interviews 12, 19 and 27. 185 Interview 12. FOI-R--4101--SE This w...
Tasks Performed. The fact that HNLMS Xxxxx xx Xxxx had two autonomous helicopter systems with different capabilities at its disposal enabled the mission to perform numerous tasks, some of them simultaneously. The main tasks that the helicopter unit carried out were intelligence, sea-surveillance and reconnaissance operations along the Somali coast.220 The standard operational aim during the mission, according to two interviewees working closely with the unit, was to conduct flight operations twice a day, six days a week using both Dutch and Swedish helicopters.221 To coordinate the activities, flight briefs were conducted ahead of each operation between the Principal Warfare Officer (PWO), the Aircraft Coordinator, who directs air-traffic, and the crews. Following operations, the crews were debriefed by the intelligence section in the same way as the LCCT. The Swedish crew was normally debriefed by Swedish intelligence personnel, unless personnel from the Dutch side happened to be present.222
