Live firing on HMS Defender

Gunners on board HMS Defender conduct live firing drills with the .50cal Heavy Machine Gun as part of Exercise Formidable Shield 23 in the area of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

HMS Defender is a type 45 destroyer air defence ship. Defender and her crew have been engaged on operations over the past 3 years, covering 4 major Oceans and most of the world’s seas. Assisted by her Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron, the Portsmouth based destroyer is participating in exercise Formidable Shield 2023 in the North Atlantic, where the ship will work with the UK’s allies showcasing the Type 45 destroyer as one of the world’s best air defence ships. Formidable Shield is a biennial integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) exercise involving a series of live-fire events against subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets, incorporating multiple Allied ships, aircraft, and ground forces working across battlespaces to deliver effects. (Courtesy photo by LPhot Matt Bradley, Royal Navy)