The U.K. and Italian carrier strike groups will meet in the Ionian Sea this week as part of a NATO exercise while the U.S. 6th Fleet is leading NATO At Sea Demonstration Formidable Shield 25 which kicked off on Saturday and taking place in the North and Norwegian Seas and North Atlantic Ocean.
The carriers are part of NATO Exercise Med Strike which kicked off on Monday. The drill marks the first major workout for the UKCSG for its eight-month deployment, according to a Royal Navy (RN) release.
Exercise Med Strike, taking place from Monday to Sunday in the waters of the Ionian Sea between Taranto and Sicily will involve 21 warships, three submarines, 41 fighter aircraft, 19 helicopters, ten patrol aircraft and more than 8,000 personnel, stated the release, though it did not provide the full list of the ships taking part in the drills. The UKCSG currently comprises of HMS Prince of Wales (R09), RN destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33), RN frigate HMS Richmond (F239), Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ville De Quebec (FFH332), Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F311) and fleet oiler HNoMS Maud (A530), Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Mendez Nunez (F-104), fleet oilers RFA Tidespring (A136) and RFA Tideforce (A139) and nuclear powered attack submarine HMS Astute (S119) though Maud will only be with the UKCSG for the Mediterranean phase of the deployment and will not follow it to the Indo-Pacfic.
The release stated that the Cavour CSG, led by aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (550) will join with the UKCSG to drill in anti-submarine warfare tactics among other skills, “This is a major moment in the UK Carrier Strike Group’s global deployment and will test our skills alongside NATO allies in a region of fundamental importance to UK security.”, said Commodore James Blackmore, Commander UKCSG, in the release.
Alongside the UK and Italy, Canada, France, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Türkiye and the United States are also involved in Exercise Med Strike according to the release which added that The UK CSG entered the Mediterranean at the end of April and was under NATO command as it participated in NATO Exercise Neptune Strike 25.1, “The CSG proved its ability to seamlessly integrate and contribute to NATO missions, working closely with forces from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Northern Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Türkiye and the United States.”, read the RN release
The main objectives for Neptune Strike 25-1, which began on Apr.1 and taking place across the entire Mediterranean are to maintain freedom of navigation and maneuver in NATO’s area of operations, to secure strategic maritime chokepoints, to conduct deterrence and vigilance, and to increase the interoperability in operational domains, fostering NATO’s capabilities to enable multi-domain operations across Europe, according to a NATO release.
Earlier on Saturday, ten NATO nations and Australia kicked off exercise At Sea Demonstration / Formidable Shield 25 (ASD/FS25), led by U.S. Sixth Fleet and executed by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), according to a Sixth Fleet release.
The release stated that ASD/FS 25 is the largest at-sea live-fire exercise in the European theater and that exercise is designed to enhance Allied interoperability in a joint, live-fire, Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) environment using NATO command and control reporting structures, “There is simply no substitute for the training and learning that occurs when we operate in these intensely realistic scenarios,” said Capt. Michael Dwan, Commander, Task Group 154.64 and STRIKFORNATO’s U.S. Maritime Ballistic Missile Defense Assets Advisor, in the release, “Training as a collective using NATO command and control reporting structure forges the bonds of interoperability and strengthens the alliance as a whole. Exercises like ASD/FS are critical for refining our collective integrated air and missile defense capabilities, ensuring we can respond effectively to any threat from any direction and maintain a credible deterrent posture.”.
ASD/FS 25 will include a series of live-fire events against unmanned air and surface systems, subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets, incorporating multiple Allied ships, multi-nation/multi-service ground-based air defenses, and aviation forces working across battlespaces and participating nations will share common tactical pictures and situational awareness, conduct NATO-level mission planning and engagement coordination, and exercise force-level pre-planned responses in various scenarios and situations, according to the release.
Participating nations include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, U.K., and U.S. with Australia providing a radar sensor for data collection only. More than 16 ships and 27 aircraft, eight ground units consisting of radars, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC), and approximately 6,900 personnel are taking part in the drills, according to the release, which did not provide a full list of participating ships.
Ships known to be taking part in the drills are Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Ruyter (F804), which will serve as the command ship for the drills, U.S. Navy destroyers USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), RN destroyer HMS Dragon (D35), Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Iver Huitfeldt (F361), Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Cristóbal Colón (F-105) and French Navy frigate FS Normandie (D651)
A Norwegian Armed Forces release stated the exercise runs until May 25 with the main activity in Norway taking place from Monday to Saturday in Andøya and its offshore waters before moving on to the Hebrides off Scotland.
