English: Pictured is HMS Sabre, a Patrol Boat based in Gibraltar. The vessel was escorting Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth into the Mediterraean port. HMS Sabre together with sister ships HMS Scimitar form the core of the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron. The small team – the two Scimitar-class patrol boats, 19 personnel, and three Arctic 24 rigid-hulled inflatable boats – is one of only two permanently deployed sea-going units. The only other is HMS Clyde on permanent station in the Falklands. The role of the boats and people of the Gibraltar Squadron is to safeguard Gibraltar’s shores, while contributing to joint operations. In addition, the Gibraltar Squadron provides a maritime Quick Reaction Force to support ships in the local area, and keeps a watchful eye over shipping passing through the Strait of Gibraltar. The craft of the squadron are often busy supporting British and NATO exercises in the region, or indeed other nations’ maritime forces.