The Gibraltar Squadron is a unit of the British Royal Navy. It is the only seagoing Royal Naval unit based in Gibraltar, attached to British Forces Gibraltar. It currently includes two Cutlass-class fast patrol boats with a maximum speed of up to 41-knots. The first new vessel of this class, HMS Cutlass, arrived in Gibraltar in November 2021, followed by the second vessel, HMS Dagger, in March 2022. The squadron also uses three Pacific 24 rigid-hulled inflatable boats, crewed by a team of 26 people and deploys one diving support boat. The 2021 defence white paper indicated that henceforth, one River-class offshore patrol vessel, , would also be permanently based in Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Guinea. History England's capture of Gibraltar in 1704 provided an essential operating base for the Royal Navy at the entrance to the Mediterranean and led to the establishment of a strong naval presence in the territory. This permanent British fleet presence at Gibraltar was maintained in varied forms through the centuries until the rundown and abolition of the British Mediterranean Fleet in 1967. From the 1970s, the British naval presence in the region took on a more intermittent character, though Gibraltar remained important as a British naval staging base and was so used, for example, during the Falklands War in 1982. The importance of ensuring the security of Royal Navy facilities in Gibraltar was illustrated by the mooted but thwarted Argentine special forces Operation Algeciras which envisaged an attack on British ships using Gibraltar during the War. The current Gibraltar Squadron, focused on the role of base and coastal security, was established on 28 August 1985 following the withdrawal of the RAF Marine Craft Unit No. 1102. The two motor launches attached to the previous unit, HMAFV Sunderland and Stirling, remained however and were subsequently renamed HM ships Hart and Cormorant respectively. Both vessels remained with the squadron until May 1991 when they were replaced by the new P2000 patrol boats HM Ships Ranger and Trumpeter. These in turn remained with the squadron until 2003. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, security arrangements for the squadron were enhanced and the unit received yet another new pair of patrol boats, HMS Sabre and HMS Scimitar, as well as three new RHIBs, in September 2002. The unit has played host to nine URNU students each summer for a two-week acquaint, giving