Martin Van Duin

Senior Operational Requirements Analyst, AGS and UAS Programme Office NSPA-NATO Support Procurement Agency

Marty van Duin joined the Royal Navy to train as a pilot in the first intake of the new millennium, January 2000. On leaving BRNC Dartmouth, he completed Flying Training, joining the front line at RNAS Yeovilton in 2005 to fly the Maritime Attack Lynx. Conducting flying tenures in HMS’s ARGYLL, MANCHESTER and CUMBERLAND, he deployed to the Middle East, twice, for oil platform defence, enhanced Counter Piracy and Counter Narcotics activities in the Arabian Gulf, Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Oman. He was selected and trained for Qualified Helicopter Instructor in 2010, from where he returned to 702 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), culminating as the Pilot Training Officer. A graduate of the second Principal Warfare Officer (Aviation) Course, he subsequently served as the Strike Operations Officer in HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and the first Operations Officer in HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, where he was responsible for the early planning and cross departmental integration of her initial sea trials. Eager to return to flying, he converted to the Wildcat Maritime Attack helicopter in 2015 to become the Operations Officer of 825 NAS, during which he was promoted to take over as Senior Pilot and Executive Officer. Having completed nearly 3000 flying hours and 2000 helicopter deck landings, he was selected for the UK Advanced and Command Staff Course, which he successfully completed together with a Master of Arts in Defence Studies through Kings College London. Promoted once more, in 2019 he deployed to Bahrain as the Chief Strategy and Policy for the coalition Combined Maritime Forces, where he worked together with the US Commander of 5th Fleet and the UK Maritime Component Commander to reinvigorate the coalition maritime strategy in the region. Returning to the UK in 2020, he moved to NATO’s Allied Maritime Command in Northwood, London, where he is responsible to Commander Maritime Air NATO for the coordination of allied Carrier Strike activities, planning and coordination of allied Maritime Patrol Aircraft operations and liaising with Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany, for multi-domain operations. From there, he was appointed to the Security, Policy and Operations in the UK Ministry of Defence as the policy holder for UK Carrier Strike, the Principal Officer for the UK-US carrier strike relationship and the military advisor for all UK Defence formal international relationships. On retiring from the Royal Navy in 2024, he had the good fortune to return to serving the Alliance with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, where he is the Senior Operational Requirements Analyst for the NATO-owned RQ-4D Phoenix (Global Hawk) and the MQ-9B Sky/Sea Guardian/Protector International Cooperation Support Partnership.