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.

How Denmark Helps NATO Protect the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans - plus a US Army technology demonstrator aircraft

The Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Triton (F358) is one of four patrol vessels deployed to the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans at any given time.Although the Triton is not an icebreaker,it is hardened for breaking ice up to meduium thickness.These warships are under Denmark's Joint Arctic Command (JACO),an operational command based in Nuuk (pronounced Nook),the capital of Greenland.JACO also oversees Bombardier Challenger 650 militarised patrol aircraft;and the Sirius dog sled patrol,which is the elite naval unit that patrols Eastern Greenland on dogsleds in two-year rotations.Greenland and the Faroe Islands are autonomous possessions of the Kingdom of Denmark.*Climate change is opening up more of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans to navigation,raising the spectre of ever more competition with near-peer adversaries Russia and China.Russia has been building up its military capabilities in the Arctic Region in recent years,adding new facilities and restoring Cold War facilities.At the same time,China styles itself as a near-Arctic state,developing new icebreakers for increased Arctic presence.NATO views this presence with concern,the Alliance says,as five of the six countries bordering the Arctic Ocean are NATO Allies:Canada,Denmark,Iceland,Norway and the US.*The Greenland Iceland UK Gap (GIUK) is a strategic transit route formed by two stretches of open ocean between the three land masses.It separates the Norwegian Sea from the open Atlantic.Denmark has taken strategic leadership of the GIUK on behalf of its NATO Allies,looking to expand its spending,surveillance and military presence in the Arctic Region and North Atlantic.Its ties to Greenland and the Faroe Islands make it a natural leader in the Arctic and North Atlantic's geopolitical and great-power concerns.The GIUK is a key supply line between North America and Europe.In 2021,Denmark invested 250 million dollars in its surveillance capabilities in Greenland and the Faroe Islands.The Ukraine war has made the GIUK more significant than ever.Surveillance of the GIUK is essential to keep Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) and supply lines open between North America and Europe.Moreover,Denmark has been equipping its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates with improved sonar;while equipping its MH-60 Seahawk helicopters with sonar and torpedoes.The upgrades are to be completed by no sooner than 2024.*SLOCs are vulnerable to attack on their many undersea cables by Russia and China.Russia's Northern Fleet uses the GIUK as a major transit route.In a crisis,the UK Royal Navy would need to use the GIUK as a transit route to the open Atlantic.In 2019,ten Russian Northern Fleet nuclear-powered submarines staged an exercise to cross the GIUK undetected during drills lasting up to two months.*For its part,the Royal Danish Air Force has enlisted a militarised version of the Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet to monitor Denmark's sovereignty.The US Army has also converted the Challenger 650 business jet to fly regular missions along the Polish-Belarus border to monitor Russian ground forces in and around Ukraine.It is the Leidos Special Mission Aircraft (LSMA),and is outfitted with the Aerial Reconnaissance and Targeting Exploitation Intelligence System (ARTEMIS).According to AIN Online,the Army said the aircraft provides:high-altitude sensing capabilities against near-peer adversaries and bridges gaps in Multi-Domain Operations mission.*The LSMA aircraft was operating out of Constanta International Airport,Romania.Furthermore,the LSMA is believed to have electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensors and side-looking radar for tracking ground vehicles.*Bombardier Inc (XTSE:BBD.B),Leidos Holdings Inc (LDOS)

What's Up:Carrier Strike Group Deploys to Atlantic Doubletime

A powerful flotilla of US Navy and Royal Danish Navy assets,the USS Eisenhower (CVN 69) and  Carrier Strike Group 10 (CSG 10),were deployed in the U.S. 2nd Fleet AOR (the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic) on 20 February 2020.The deployment occurred immediately the Eisenhower,"the Mighty Ike",completed its COMPTUEX (Composite Unit Training Exercise) with NATO Allies France,Canada and Denmark,who each contributed a frigate to the COMPTUEX.
The COMPTUEX certifies that a CSG is ready to deploy and conduct the full range of maritime operations,including warfighting,following a maintenance period (the Eisenhower had an extended maintenance period of 18 months,versus the normal six months).Normally,the CSG will visit its home port-in this case Norfolk,Virginia-after the COMPTUEX to say goodbye before deployment.The abrupt departure this time is being seen as an example of the US Navy's new Dynamic Force Employment (DFE) strategy,which is basically an unpredictability intended to demonstrate the Navy's flexibility to our adversaries.The strategy was first executed in 2018,when the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and its CSG conducted back-to-back deployments.At that time,ADM James G. Foggo III,commander US Naval Forces Europe and Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples,noted that:
The National Defense Strategy makes clear that we must be operationally unpredictable to our long-term strategic adversaries,while upholding our commitments to our allies and partners.*
According to RDL Paul Schlise,commander,CSG 10:
Carrier Strike Groups are visible and powerful symbols of US resolve to our allies and partners,and possess the flexibility and sustainability to fight major wars and ensure the freedom of the seas.*
RDL Schlise is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).Commissioned through Marquette University's ROTC program,RDL Schlise earned a Matser's degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.His decorations include the Legion of Merit;Defense Meritorious Service Medal;Navy Commendation Medal;and Navy Achievement Medal.*
CSG 10 includes Carrier Air Wing 3 and its nine fixed wing and helicopter squadrons and detachments;
two guided-missile cruisers;
Destroyer Squadron 26 (three guided-missile destroyers plus the Royal Danish Navy frigate Iver Huitfeldt (F361);
and possibly an undisclosed submarine.*
Commanding officer of the USS Eisenhower is CAPT Kyle Higgins.*

US,Danish Warships Exercise in the Arctic - revised

A US Navy and Royal Danish Navy warship have held drills near the Danish possession of Greenland,the largest island in the world.The PASSEX,or passing exercise,was conducted by the USS Gravely (DDG 107),an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer,and HDMS Absalon (L16),an Absalon-class command and support ship.At one point,a Royal Danish Navy Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter touched down aft on the Gravely.*
A PASSEX is a series of drills by two navies that ensures their ability to communicate and cooperate closely during a crisis.These may include close manoeuvres;flag-hoist drills;flashing light drills;and semaphore drills;as well as electronic communications and target acquisition drills.*
The USS Gravely has been conducting Arctic operations during an eight-month deployment.According to CDR Michael O'Reilly,commanding officer:
The exercise was a unique opportunity for Gravely to conduct training with the Danish navy and demonstrate interoperability in strategically important waters.*
Later in the deployment,crew members of the Gravely qualified on a machine gun while plying the Arctic waters.*

North Sea:Interlocking Drills Test Norwegian Navy and its NATO Allies - Updated 1 March 2018

For the past few weeks,Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 has been participating in the Royal Norwegian Navy Exercise TG 18-1.Some 14 ships and submarines arrived in Bergen,Norway to initiate TG 18-1 in support of training and qualifying the RNN's new submarine commanders.The drills also aim to sharpen warfighting skills under rugged Nordic wintry conditions.
At the same time,TG 18-1 is being integrated with NATO exercise Dynamic Guard,which emphasises air defence and electronic warfare.The electronic warfare component of the challenge links TG 18-1 to Dynamic Guardian and treats the interception,jamming and emission of radar signals for defensive and deceptive applications.Maritime air defence involves naval helicopters and fixed wing patrol aircraft searching for and destroying enemy submarines.The maritime drills are being staged in the North Sea as well as fjords near Bergen.The 14 vessels include SNMG1'S current flagship,Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Niels Juel,and Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS St.John's and the French FREMM multi-mission frigate Provence.Besides Norway,Denmark and Canada,other participating Allies include:France,Germany,Poland,the Netherlands and Spain,plus NATO partner Australia.A total of 5,000 Sailors and 14 frigates have been taking part in the sophisticated tests,such as trying to block a submarine from entering a fjord from the North Sea. *
As well as the warships,helicopters and other aircraft are joining the exercises.The complex multinational drills extend into Dynamic Guard,where interoperability is increased at both the unit-to-unit and the task force level.The conditons have been rough,with seas generating waves of 5-6 meters at times.Nonetheless,the tasks are executed to sustain high interoperability and readiness among the Allies-STRONGER TOGETHER.*
The commander of SNMG1 is Commodore Soren Thinggard Larsen,Royal Danish Navy.He ensures that,as a member of the NATO Reaction Force,SNMG1 trains at a high operational level to meet the very high readiness requirements,always with a view to reaching the capability to respond promptly in times of crisis and conflict.