Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group Integrates Norwegian Frigate

Before arriving in Oslo,Norway on a scheduled port visit,the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG),also called Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12),integrated Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F 311) as the GRFCSG Surface Warfare Commander,building collective operational experience at sea and showcasing a powerful display of the US Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy's interoperability,said U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet.On 24 May 2023,USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) arrived and anchored at the head of the Oslo Fjord.A fjord is a long,narrow inlet between high cliffs,typically formed by the submergence of a glaciated valley. Said new CSG 12 Commander Rear Admiral Erik J. Eslich: Norway is a strategic partner in the continued effort to maintain a secure and stable Arctic and North Atlantic region that benefits global order.* The Ford hosted local officials and key leaders for a reception to honour the US-Norway relationship.According to the Ford's Commanding Officer,Captain Rick Burgess: It is an honor,joy and thrill to visit Oslo and show our cherished partner the Navy's newest class of aircraft carriers.* GRFCSG deployed from Naval Base Norfolk,Virginia on 2 May 2023 and,since that time,has been conducting joint and combined training,exercises and operations to help reduce maritime security risk associated with increased activity in the high north.The CSG sailed with Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) for several days,refining Tactics,Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) to increase interoperability,such as by conducting a passing exercise (PASSEX).* So CVN 78 represents a generational leap in the USN's capability to project power on a global scale.No fewer than 23 new technologies are introduced on the Ford-class of carriers,advances intended to deliver greater lethality;survivability;and joint interoperability with a 20% smaller crew than the Nimitz-class which preceded it,paving the way forward for naval aviation.The Ford's deployment demonstrates the commitment and power projection capabilities of the Navy's globally deployed force.So the GRFCSG provides an inherently flexible naval force capable of deploying across combatant commands to meet emergency missions,deter potential adversaries,reassure Allies and Partners,enhance security and guarantee the free flow of global commerce.A total of more than 6,000 Sailors across all platforms of CSG 12 are ready to respond globally to combatant commander tasking. CSG 12 consists of:Carrier Air Wing 8 (CAW 8);Destroyer Squadron 2 (DESRON 2),which includes Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS McFaul (DDG 74),USS Ramage (DDG 74),and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116);and Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60).An undisclosed nuclear-powered attack submarine typically accompanies a CSG for force protection.The Ford's first-in-class technology includes a new nuclear plant;the ability to generate at least three times the electrical power;innovative advanced arresting gear;and the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS).EMALS expands the aircraft launch envelope,paving the way for innovation for manned/unmanned aircraft as well as providing the opportunity for other technological advancements in the future.* On 26 May 2023,His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway joined Captain Richard Burgess in a ship tour while the Ford was anchored off the Oslo coast.HRH was attired in his dress blue admiral's uniform.Indeed,a change of command ceremony transferred command of CSG 12 from Rear Admiral Greg Huffman to Rear Admiral Eslich at the same anchorage.After being anchored there for five days,the Ford headed south from Oslo between Norway and Sweden,and out to the North Sea on 29 May,according to a maritime tracking service.

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.*

Drumbeat of War:Truman Carrier Strike Group Braces European Waters

The US Navy's Harry S. Truman Carrier Strke Group (CSG 8) has deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet Area of Responsibility (Europe/Africa).On 1 December 2021,it departed its homeport of Norfolk,Virginia.It was ordered to remain in the Mediterranean by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III to provide assurance to European Allies,considering the escalating threat posed by about 100,000 Russian forces gathered along NATO Partner Ukraine's borders. A series of three diplomatic encounters between the US,NATO,Europe and Russia has failed to resolve the crisis.Russia has cynically demanded what it knows NATO cannot do:exclude Ukraine from NATO membership and withdraw forces from NATO'S Eastern Flank.According to U.S. Ambassador to the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Michael R. Carpenter: We must never stand for the flouting or erosion of our bedrock principles.That means no tolerance for overt or tacit spheres of influence,no restrictions on the sovereign right of nations to choose their own alliances,no privileging one state's security requirements over those of another.* CSG 8,commanded by Rear Admiral Curtis Renshaw,consists of the flagship aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75);Carrier Air Wing 1;the staffs of Carrier Strike Group 8 and the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56).It also includes: the guided missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28 (DESRON 28) under Captain Todd Zenneri,namely,USS Bainbridge (DDG 96),USS Cole (DDG 67),USS Gravely (DDG 107),and USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109); a special member in NATO Ally Norway's Fridtjof-Nansen class frigate HNoMS Fridtjof-Nansen (F 310) for the duration of the deployment; and likely up to two nuclear-powered attack submarines.* Carrier Strike Groups have the flexibility and sustainability to fight major wars and ensure freedom of the seas,the Navy said.CSG 8 is capable of conducting the full spectrum of combat operations to ensure security in the maritime,noted Rear Admiral Renshaw,adding that: I have no doubt that we are prepared for any challenge while we are deployed.* Painstaking maintenance of the CSG air assets is one of the primary tasks of the Group's Sailors.In January 2022,two of the Truman's F/A-18E Super Hornets drilled with two F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Hellenic Air Force over the Mediterranean Sea.*

Air With Ground:US and Norwegian Forces Exercise in the Arctic - plus a Vast Manoeuvre Coming Up

On 1 November 2021,Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighters and two US Air Force B-1B Lancer strategic bombers exercised in the Arctic Region.The aircraft executed a joint targeting drill with Norwegian Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) on the ground.This key Allied capability requires constant practise to optimise communications and procedures,Allied Air Command said.The mission also tested integration and interoperability between the advanced fighter platform F-35S and the supersonic B-1Bs.Noted Commander Allied Air Command,General Jeff Harrigian,US Air Force: Bomber Task Force missions optimise integration between NATO Allies while enhancing our response to threats throughout the Arctic.Combining fifth-generation assets with long-range strike capabilities strengthens our collective deterrence.* The F-35 offers unparalleled command and control for battlespace awareness.Coupled with the strategic range of the B-1B and the ability to employ mixed forces,the F-35s provide a spectrum of options for Allied commanders,Allied Air Command observed.* In 2022,Norwegian forces will lead a massive Arctic drill,Cold Response 2022.The Royal Norwegian Navy and Air Force will play the leading roles in CR 22,which will feature around 40,000 Allied troops.Indeed,it is to be the largest exercise inside the Arctic Circle since the 1980s,during the Cold War.The scenario of CR 22 is the reinforcement of Northern Norway in the Ofoten area,which is near Norway's Northern Brigade and several training areas used by NATO forces.Ofoten is considered to be strategically critical for the countering of a global crisis instigated by Russia.That is because it is only around 600 km/372.882 mi from Russia's nuclear submarines of its Northern Fleet,which is based on the Kola Peninsula. Russia will be invited to observe the drills,in accordance with international norms.On a number of occasions,however,Russia has conducted missile firings in the region with little advance warning,just suddenly posting a NOTAM notice of an air hazard zone.

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.