Ukraine’s Warships Join Forces With Britain’s Powerful HMS Dauntless in Major Naval Drills

Five Ukrainian Navy minehunters completed a seven-day training exercise off the southern coast of England, conducting live-fire drills, underwater mine disposal operations, and coordinated maneuvers alongside the British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dauntless.

According to the Royal Navy on October 12, the training marked the final phase of Exercise Lion Protector, a multinational military exercise organized by the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) to strengthen maritime security and protect critical infrastructure across northern Europe.

The Ukrainian vessels—Henichesk, Mariupol, Melitopol, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy—are currently stationed in Portsmouth as part of Britain’s ongoing military assistance to Ukraine.

Training operations took place in waters near Dorset, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight, where Ukrainian crews practiced naval gunnery, formation sailing, and the detection and neutralization of underwater explosives.

One of the principal components involved the SeaFox mine-disposal system, a remotely operated underwater vehicle designed to identify and destroy naval mines.

The system uses sonar and onboard cameras to examine suspected explosive devices. Its mine-disposal variant carries an explosive charge, allowing operators to destroy identified threats remotely through a fiber-optic control connection.

The Ukrainian minehunters Chernihiv and Cherkasy conducted live SeaFox operations, successfully destroying simulated mine threats through controlled underwater explosions.

The exercise concluded in the eastern Solent, where all five Ukrainian vessels sailed in close formation with HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 air-defense destroyer. The maneuver tested the Ukrainian crews' ability to coordinate movements and operate safely alongside a significantly larger warship.

The naval training formed the fifth and final stage of Lion Protector, which ran from August through October 2026 and involved forces from the 10-member Joint Expeditionary Force. The training also supports Ukraine’s preparations for future mine-clearance operations in the Black Sea.

Earlier, Ukraine considered deploying its UK-based minehunters to help clear naval mines from the Strait of Hormuz as part of a potential British-French-led operation. The proposal emerged as Ukraine’s warships remained unable to enter the Black Sea due to restrictions under the Montreux Convention.

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