Two NATO carrier strike groups (CSGs) are currently conducting operations in the North Sea.
The deployments demonstrate a level of integrated, multi-national, high-end capability and presence NATO’s adversaries do not possess.
On 14 October, the US Navy’s (USN’s) USS Harry S Truman CSG transited the Dover Straits prior to commencing operations in the region.
“[Operating] with our allies in the North Sea underscores our commitment to maritime security and the NATO alliance,” Rear Admiral Sean Bailey, the CSG’s commander, said in a US Sixth Fleet statement. “We will operate with our NATO allies and partners to strengthen our collective readiness, defence, and deterrence.”
“No country can confront today’s challenges alone, and we look forward to showcasing our interoperability,” Rear Adm Bailey added.
“The CSG will conduct operations in the North Sea with allies and partners from several countries in the region, demonstrating the warfighting interoperability and strategic relationships built over the past eighty years,” US Sixth Fleet said, in the statement.
The CSG includes the nine-squadron Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW1), the CG 47 Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg, and the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham, alongside the Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S Truman. Embarked staffs include CSG8, CVW1, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28.
En route to the region, the CSG and its airwing conducted integrated warfighting training in the North Atlantic. The CSG’s wider deployment supports US Naval Forces Europe’s maritime operations and theatre security co-operation mission, the US Sixth Fleet statement added.
The second CSG present is the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) HMS Prince of Wales CSG. The strike group is sailing in the North Sea off Scotland, conducting Exercise ‘Strike Warrior’ as a final step in preparations confirming the CSG’s readiness to conduct its major global deployment, CSG25, planned for next year.
The Queen Elizabeth-class carrier HMS Prince of Wales’s airwing consists of F-35B Lightning II aircraft from the RN’s 809 Naval Air Squadron and the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) 617 Squadron. Its CSG includes the Type 45 air-defence destroyer HMS Dauntless, the Type 23 frigates HMS Portland (which brings bespoke anti-submarine warfare focus) and HMS Iron Duke, an Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, and RFA Tidespring as fleet support.
Other RAF aircraft are also present for ‘Strike Warrior’, with maritime patrol aircraft supporting anti-submarine operations and ‘fast jets’ testing the CSG’s air-defence capability.
NATO is present too, with Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) participating in ‘Strike Warrior’. Commanded currently by the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN), SNMG1 includes Norwegian, Belgian, Dutch, and Portuguese ships.
The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) ship in SNMG1 is the M-class frigate HNLMS Van Amstel.
The USN’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS McFaul is also participating in ‘Strike Warrior’. The USN and RNLN contributed escort ships to the UK’s CSG21 deployment back in 2021; both are likely to send ships with the CSG for CSG25.
Commodore James Blackmore – the RN’s Commander UK Carrier Strike Group (COMUKCSG), who heads the CSG’s battlestaff – said, in an RN statement, that the CSG provides “a powerful capability across all domains, from anti-air to cyber”. For the battlestaff, Cdre Blackmore said, “This exercise is important because it will validate my team as a ‘Very High Readiness’ force, which means we can be ready to command a fleet with a few days’ notice.” From both the CSG and battlestaff perspectives, ‘Strike Warrior’ is key to preparations for CSG25, he added.
by Dr. Lee Willett
