The 192-page manual on exercise Joint Warrior 161 was sent out accidentally via email, according to the Herald Scotland newspaper. Joint Warrior 161, is taking place between April 11 and 23, 2016 and will comprise of a program of exercises conducted by land forces, warships, submarines and aircraft across the UK. The maritime element is focused in the offshore and coastal waters to the north east, north and north west of Scotland. Further information will be provided in nearer the time.
MOD document faux pas, & failing to adequately protect #marine wildlife during #jointwarrior #sonar #explosives https://t.co/vBJLYGWf7V
— Sarah Dolman (@dolmansarahj) April 17, 2016
The briefing — marked "NATO Restricted" on every page — contained technical details of aircraft "killbox" target areas, code decryption tables, radio jamming rules and authentication protocols. As well as dozens of codewords, call signs and map co-ordinates, the report includes long lists of phone numbers, email addresses and military facilities.
The fishermen and ferry operators were only supposed to receive a general briefing on where activity would take place, to avoid collisions and conflicts of navigation.
BBCNews does review of Sunday papers but not "MoD accidentally releases secret Nato war manual amid military manoeuvres off Scottish coast"
— Peter Curran (@moridura) April 16, 2016
Brendan O'Hara MP, the Scottish National Party's defense spokesman in Westminster, told the Herald:
"The careless circulation of this document represents a leak of highly sensitive information. This could compromise the safety and security of the whole exercise. The MoD must investigate this breach and review their communications procedures around exercises as soon as possible."
Warship Contact
"A communications issue around the Joint Warrior and Griffin Strike exercises was identified and appropriate measures have been taken. There is no impact to the public, military personnel or units participating in the exercise," an MoD spokesman said.
@robedwards53 @mla1396 @newsundayherald were getting rid of NATO, aren't we?
— Hutch FSharpers (@itcognoscente) April 17, 2016
A public briefing — which is available on the Royal Navy website — states that the exercise includes Submarine, warship, minewarfare, live firing and gunnery activity and that GPS navigations would be turned off at certain times in some areas.
The documents states: "The warships taking part have been instructed to offer fishing vessels and the wider civilian community every assistance in their dealings with exercise activity. This applies especially when in the vicinity of submarines, when warships are conducting live firing or when GPS is denied for military training. You are invited to contact them via VHF to ensure that military training and civilian activities are safely de-conflicted."
