naval exercise
Regina was
laid down on 6 October 1989 by
Marine Industries at
Sorel, Quebec and
launched on 25 October 1991. The ship was provisionally accepted on 2 March 1994, and following
sea trials, sailed to CFB Esquimalt. The frigate was
commissioned into the
Canadian Forces there on 30 September 1994 and carries the
hull classification symbol FFH 334. In May 1995, with
sister ship ,
Regina sailed to
Southeast Asia for naval exercises. The following year in March, this time with the
auxiliary ship , the
destroyer and frigate ,
Regina returned to the Eastern Pacific for naval exercises. During this trip the ship visited
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the first North American warship to do so since the
Vietnam War. In February 1997, the ship sailed to join a
United States Navy carrier battle group in the
Persian Gulf to enforce trade sanctions on Iraq. The ship returned to the Persian Gulf from June to December 1999 with the carrier battle group to enforce sanctions again. In February 2003,
Regina deployed to the Indian Ocean as part of
Operation Apollo in support of the
War in Afghanistan. The ship remained in theatre until May.
Regina sailed from Esquimalt on 3 July 2012 to the
Arabian Sea and joined
Combined Task Force 150 on 21 August. She returned home on 14 March 2013. In 2013,
Regina visited
Manila, Philippines for a goodwill visit to the Philippines. In 2014
Regina operated off the coast of Somalia as part of
Operation Artemis. On 30 April 2014 the Canadian government announced that
Regina would be dispatched to assist in
NATO operations, concerning the crisis in Ukraine. The frigate began her FELEX refit in May 2015 and returned to service on 29 April 2016 at CFB Esquimalt. On 6 February 2019,
Regina and departed Esquimalt for Pacific operations with other nations' navies. On 18 February, a Cyclone helicopter from
Regina was attempting to land on
Asterix and was damaged in the operation.
Regina,
Asterix and the damaged Cyclone were redirected to
Guam to undergo inspection. No damage was reported to
Asterix, and following air tests of the repaired Cyclone, all three ships resumed their deployment. In March 2019,
Regina and
Asterix parted ways, with
Regina deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Artemis beginning on 26 March. The frigate intercepted a second vessel, this time an unregistered fishing vessel, and seized of hashish in 150 bags. A third seizure took place on 24 April, with of hashish and of
heroin netted from a stateless fishing vessel in international waters off Oman and Yemen. The frigate then took part in exercises with a French task force including the , followed up by a fourth seizure of of hashish on 3 May. On 18 June
Regina transited the
Taiwan Strait as part of a
freedom of navigation mission. During the transit alongside
Asterix, the ship was "buzzed" by two Chinese
Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft when they flew at a height of within of the frigate. The vessel returned to Canada on 19 August 2019 having participated in enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea and participating in Operation Talisman Sabre 19, a biennial naval exercise with the United States and Australian navies. In November 2019,
Regina received a new "
dazzle camouflage" in 1944 colours to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the
Battle of the Atlantic. On 29 August 2020,
Regina fired two
Harpoon missiles for SINKEX of
RIMPAC 2020. In July 2024
Regina made its first-ever
Arctic patrol when it sailed to the
Bering Strait for an encounter with the Chinese polar research vessel
Xue Long 2, in response to "global competitors that are increasingly probing Canadian infrastructure and gathering intelligence in a warming Arctic." The encounter was "safe and professional". ==References==