Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Deployed to Europe for NEPTUNE STRIKE 24-2

On 23 SEPT 2024 the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) left its homeport of Naval Base Norfolk,Virginia on a deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean and ultimately the North Sea and Scandinavia.The Truman was accompanied by Carrier Air Wing 1;Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and USS Stout (DDG 55);Yorktown-class guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64);and typically an unannounced nuclear-powered attack submarine for force protetction.This blog met some of the USS Gettysberg Sailors and noted how young they were,just out of high school.*The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is a member of U.S. 2nd Fleet (Atlantic Fleet).It is under the command of RDM Sean Bailey.Said ADM Daryl Caudle,commander,U.S. Fleet Forces Command:This comes on the heels of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group's nine month mission that highlighted the need for continuity in our sustained presence amid escalating international tensions.The operational experience gained through these deployments is invaluable for maintaining a deep bench of skilled warfighters with trust in their system's reliability,adaptability and lethality in a rapidly changing security environment.*NATO Joint Forces Command Brunssum (Netherlands):One of NATO's premier enhanced Vigilance Activities NEPTUNE STRIKE (NEST) 24-2 began on 24 OCT 2024,encompassing multiple joint operational areas across Europe.Running from 24 OCT 2024 TO 31 OCT,NEST 24-2 demonstrated the complex integration of joint high-end multinational maritime strike capabilities.*NATO took operational command of multiple aircraft carriers and expeditionary strike groups in support of deterrence and defence of the Alliance.The main objectives of NEST 24-2 are to maintain freedom of navigation and manoeuvre in NATO's Area of Operations;to secure strategic maritime chokepoints (such as the Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap,or GIUK);to conduct deterrence and vigilance;and to increase the interoperability in operational domains,e.g.,air-land-integration,fostering NATO's capabilities to enable wide-ranging multi-domain operations.*Participating units operated from the Meditarraenean and Adriatic Sea up to the North and Baltic Sea,including air operations across Central Europe to conduct air-to-ground operations in the Baltic Sea Region,also with NATO's new member Sweden.Among others,the activities also included amphibious landings;counter mine operations;explosive ordnance disposal;and defence against drones.*NEST 24-2 was led by Naval Strike and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).It was a long-planned activity conducted in compliance with international laws and standards,and was scheduled independently from any current developments.*In the North Sea,NEST 24-2 activities featured the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group,as well as the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and her escorts.In the Mediterraenean,NEST 24-2 staff elements from STRIKFORNATO were embarked on the Blue-ridge class command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 22) to demonstrate the ability to deploy a self-sufficient mobile command element anywhere at any time.The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (CV 7),along with the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) carried an Amphibious Ready Group and the embarked 24th Marine Expedtionary Unit (MEU).The Turkish Navy supported with the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadola and her embarked Marine Battalion,as well as her escorts.The Italian Navy provided the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour and her escorts for parts of the activity.In total,some 20 surface vessels and submarines,Special Operations Forces and numerous aircraft participated in NEST 24-2 in different compositions,with some 15,000 support personnel.*The Neptune Strike series is part of Project Neptune,conceptualised in 2020.It aims to enhance the pace and flexibility of command and control of naval strike and amphibious forces.It provides a blueprint for contingency and defence operations even over long distances,JFC Brunssum Public Affairs Office said.The most recent USNI tracking information on the HSTCSG was on 12 NOV 2024,when it was operating off the West Coast of Norway.

Steadfast Defender 24:HMS Prince of Wales and Carrier Strike Group Deployed to Frigid North Atlantic

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) has assumed command of the UK Carrier Strike Group headed by HMS Prince of Wales (R09) as it participates in NATO Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024,the largest warfighting drills since the Cold War.Said STRIKFORNATO:This transfer of authority to STRIKFORNATO demonstrates the Alliance's ability to integrate the high-end capabilities of a British Carrier,its strike group escorts,and embarked air wing during a series of meticulously planned maritime security activities perfectly allied with the Deterrence and Defence family of Allied collective plans.For the first time ever,the 65,000 tonne ship hosts the UK Carrier Strike Group battle staff as she takes center stage in Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024.The aircraft carrier,crewed by up to 1600 personnel,is leading a multinational group of warships towards Northern Europe.International by design,the group is comprised by its flagship and namesake,the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales;HMS Somerset;Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Tidesurge;RFA Tidespring;USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117),an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Flight IIa,bristling with guns,missiles,cruise missiles and torpedoes);HMCS Charlottetown;HDMS Niels Juel;HDMS Hvidbjornen;and ESPE Cristobal Colon.Through harsh weather and freezing conditions,HMS POW has officially commenced her paricipation in Steadfast Defender 2024.For this,she has embarked more jets than ever before (the embarked F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters are out of RAF Marham,England,being members of 617 Squadron "Dambusters"),presenting an unparalleled display of air and firepower capability.This deployment optimises the capacity STRIKFORNATO holds to seemlessly integrate the most powerful maritime forces on the planet into NATO operations.*STRIKFORNATO's command of the UK Carrier Strike Group during an exercise spanning air,land,and maritime activity from the United States to the Eastern European Flank speaks to the organisation's steadfast committment to regional security and readiness to defend tonight if needed.Routinely transferring authority of deployed Carrier Strike Groups to NATO enhances interoperability and improves defensive Allied capbilities.This practise nurtures the vital skills of each crew and ship-based commander,facilitating smooth operations within the NATO structure.Every serial strengthens the transatlantic bond and the collective power of nations working in lock step with one another in mutual supprt.*STRIKFORNATO,headquartered in Oeirus,Portugal,is Supreme Allied Commander Europe's premier,rapidly deployable and flexible maritime power projection Headquarters,capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint Allied operations.*According to Royal Navy Captain Colin McGannity,Carrier Air Wing and Strike Warfare Commander:It is always an exciting moment when F-35B Lightning join the Carrier Strike Group at sea.These fifth-generation aircraft are the main strike element within the group.Once again,we will be integrating them and the rest of the Carrier Air Wing (helicopters) with our NATO Allies and Partners.There's plenty of work ahead but I have every confidence that our talented and dedicated team will succeed.It's winter in the North Atlantic and we will face harsh weather and freezing conditions,but we are well prepared and look forward to demonstrating our readiness to fight,whenever and wherever we get the call.*The scenario of Steadfast Defender 2024 simulates a Russian attack on NATO.

F-35B Lightning II fighters during flight testing on the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales

The HMS Prince of Wales is currently visiting the US,where Marine Corps pilots practised joint operations with the Royal Navy.

Northern Viking 22:Protecting Sea Routes and Infrastructure

Underway in the high north is NATO Exercise Northen Viking 22,a high intensity and multi-domain series of maritime drills focused on critical sea lanes and infrastructure of the North Atlantic Ocean.Of special concern is the threat Russia poses to undersea telecommunications cables and its utilisation of the GIUK (Greenland/Iceland/UK) Gap,a naval chokepoint between the three land masses of the North Atlantic. In 2019,ten Russian submarines of the Northern Fleet,including two diesel and eight nuclear-powered submarines,left their homeport in the Kola Peninsula and attempted to breach the GIUK Gap undetected and enter the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal Navy's First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff,Admiral Sir Tony Radakin,is concerned about a phenomenal increase in Russian submarine underwater activity,as Russia's underwater programme intends to put at risk and potentially exploit undersea cables critical to the world's real information system.According to Admiral Radakin: That is where predominantly all the world's information and traffic travels.Russia has grown the capability to put at threat those undersea cables and potentially exploit those undersea cables.* The deep sea cables enclose thousands of miles of fibre optic cables for carrying digital information such as the Internet.Russia is believed to be mapping the undersea cables.* As well,heavily armed Russian warships had tested up to ten of the new Tsirkov hypersonic cruise missiles from a frigate and a submarine in December 2021.Indeed,in September 2021,a Russian spy ship,the Yankar,that can reportedly cut undersea cables,was detected in the English Channel and headed north.And Russia is believed to have submarines with robotic arms that can tamper with or cut vital cables critical to data traffic.Thus Russian sabotage could devastate the world's information-dependent economy,and the GIUK Gap woud be strategically important for Russia's Northern Fleet in any conflict with NATO.* Participating in NV 22 are Royal Navy warships the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) and frigate Richmond (F239);plus the Royal Norwegian Navy's frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl (F314).Additionally,US Marines will stage an amphibious landing at Midsandur in Hvalfjordur,Iceland on 11 APR 22.Besides the US Marines,other participants include naval forces from France,Germany,Norway and the UK.The Icelandic Coast Guard and police will take part in search and rescue activities.The naval warfighters will practise defending sea routes to the south of Iceland and searching for enemy submarines off the Icelandic coast with anti-submarine warfare airplanes and helicopters.* At the top of the GIUK Gap is Thule Air Base,Greenland,a highly strategic asset and the northernmost outpost of the US military (US Space Force and US Air Force).Greenland is a Danish territory and the air base was even visited by Queen of Denmark Margrethe II recently.The base contains several missile warning sensors of Space Delta 4,as well as space surveillance and control sensors of Space Delta 2,which provide space awareness and advanced missile detection to NORAD,USSF and joint partners.Thule also contains the 12th Space Warning Squadron,which operates the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) for tracking ICBMs targeting North America;while the 23rd Space Operations Squadron of Space Delta 6 controls satellites.Thule Air Base is operated by the US Space Force and controlled by the US Air Force Peterson-Schriever Garrison,821st Air Base Group.A joint force team of 150 Space Force and Air Force personnel endure the hardship post (no families) with its absolutely brutal winter weather (temperatures down to -35F/-37.2 C) for one-year stints.*

Cold Response 22 : Huge NATO Drills Aim to Defend Norway

On 10 March 2022,NATO Exercise Cold Response 22 (CORE 22) began,the largest cold weather operations drills in 30 years.About 200 aircraft,20 warships and 35,000 troops from 28 countries,including US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers in Europe on a Bomber Task Force mission,will participate.The exercise integrates Land,Sea and Air assets which will execute Air-Land and Air-Sea combat manoeuvres,with Allied fighter aircraft practising bomber escort procedures,highlighting the Alliance's dynamic capabilities.Traversing vast wilderness,Allies and Partners will conduct live-fire drills and leap into freezing lakes,honing arctic warfighting skills to ensure our armed forces can respond to any threat or crisis in the extreme and rugged arctic environment of Norway,which ranges from fjords to seas and mountains.Norway has a 195.7 kilometer/121.6 mile land border,and a 23.2 kilometer/14.4 mile sea border,with Russia. Said US Air Force General Jeff Harrigian,Commander,Allied Air Command: Integrating and training with our Allies and Partners allows us to exercise our combined capabilities while deterring aggression against NATO.* The exercise scenario will show how a unified mutilateral force would defend Norway and Europe's Northern Flank from a modern adversary.Some 900 Royal Marines will spearhead UK involvement from Royal Navy assault ship HMS Albion.UK Merlin and Wildcat helicopters will patrol the skies,supporting commando operations under Brigadier Rich Cantrill alongside a wide range of warplanes from across NATO,including F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.The drills,which run through 10 April,will prepare for any contingency while providing the chance to learn how to work together.Besides the UK,other particiapnts include Finland,France,Germany,Italy,the Netherlands,Norway,Sweden and the USA.The flotilla of NATO warships is led by the UK aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and includes a British attack submarine,the name of which is classified.Also in the flotilla is the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80);Royal Navy frigates HMS Richmond and HMS Northumberland;and Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender.In the course of the exercise,UK commandos will raid positions along the coast to prepare the beachhead for larger amphibious forces.* The biannual drills were planned eight months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.*