5 Aircraft Carriers Set to Operate Together in Europe for NATO Exercise - USNI News - USNI News

U.S. craft carriers USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) volition workout with craft carriers from France, Italy and the United Kingdom arsenic portion of a associated cognition crossed Europe meant to amusement NATO interoperability, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

The 2 American bearer onslaught groups, their embarked aerial wings and escorts volition beryllium operating successful the North Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and Mediterranean Sea on with the U.K. Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08), Italian bearer ITS Cavour (CVH 550) and the French FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91), Sabrina Singh, lawman Pentagon property secretary, told reporters Thursday.

“These operations contiguous an accidental for allied nations to coordinate captious combat powerfulness passim the Euro-Atlantic country portion showcasing NATO cohesion and interoperability,” Singh said. “It is besides an accidental to trial allied practice and to signifier NATO’s deter and support concepts crossed each geographic areas, operational domains and functional areas of the alliance.”

Singh referred questions astir the associated operations to U.S. European Command.

The George H.W. Bush CSG has been operating successful the Mediterranean since August erstwhile it replaced the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. Bush and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) operated unneurotic concisely before Truman returned location to Norfolk, Va., the first clip 2 U.S. craft carriers were successful the Mediterranean unneurotic successful respective years. During its deployment, Truman exercised with Charles de Gaulle and Cavour.

As of Thursday afternoon, Ford was disconnected Portsmouth, England, according to section vessel spotters.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Gerald R. Ford-class craft bearer disconnected Portsmouth, England successful the Solent – November 17, 2022 #ussgeraldrford #cvn78

SRC: TW-@scottyc298 pic.twitter.com/QImUpHfXqT

— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) November 17, 2022

Charles de Gaulle departed France connected Nov. 15 arsenic portion of the Mission Antares, according to a French quality release. The ngo includes 3,000 work members from France and partners.

As portion of the Antares, the French bearer volition run with ships from the Hellenic, Italian and American navies, according to the release.

Queen Elizabeth has mostly taken implicit the operations for HMS Prince of Wales (R09), which is undergoing a repair to its propulsion system, USNI News antecedently reported. Queen Elizabeth stepped successful for immoderate of Prince of Wales’ port visits, including to New York, earlier it shipped retired for a planned deployment successful the Atlantic.