This week the U.S. Navy finished three international naval exercises with allies and partners in the 5th Fleet and 7th Fleet area of operations.
On Thursday, the U.S. Navy, United Kingdom Royal Navy, and France Marine Nationale finished the Artemis Trident 19 5th Fleet mine countermeasures exercise in the Persian Gulf.
The defense exercise used the scenario of providing safe passage for humanitarian relief vessels sailing through a mined area.
“Mines threaten maritime traffic indiscriminately. Training together ensures we can collectively protect unfettered operations of naval and support vessels, as well as commercial shipping movements, throughout the maritime domain,” U.S. Navy Capt. Jeffrey Morganthaler, Commodore of Task Force 52 and lead for the exercise, said in a statement.
Task Force 52 plans and executes mine warfare operations in support of the U.S. 5th Fleet.
This scenario had 70 nautical miles of routes and channels cleared for simulated shipping using multiple integrated sensors. During this, geographically disparate allied forces practiced “choke point clearance and harbor breakout.”
Artemis Trident 19 involved 10 ships, five helicopters, and over 700 personnel form the three naval forces. U.S. ships included the expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3), fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba (T-ATF-168), Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Sentry (MCM-3), and Island-class coastal patrol boats USCGC Maui (WPB-1304) and USCGC Wrangell (WPB-1332).
Participating U.K. ships included the RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009) and minehunters HMS Shoreham (M112) and HMS Ledbury (M30). French vessels included the minehunters FS L’Aigle (M647) and FS Sagittaire (M650).
In one scenario, six of the ships practiced collective self-defense, working to defend them all from simulated surface and air threats.
Earlier in the week, the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group and French Charles de Gaulle Carrier Strike Group conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX) in the Red Sea on April 15.
The ships in both strike groups conducted dissimilar aircraft training, a night gun exercise, a liaison officer exchange program, and a photo exercise. This PASSEX involved integrating training events and had Frecnh Rafale aircraft and U.S. F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets conduct air-to-air combat and refueling training.
The Stennis carrier strike group is made of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53), and guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG-74). The French strike group consisted of the sole French aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R-91), F70AA-class air defense destroyer FS Forbin (D-620), and the Royal Danish Navy Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate HDMS Niels Juel (F-363).
Cmdr. Desobry Bowens, Carrier Air Wing Nine’s operation officer on the Stennis said in a statement that the PASSEX enhances partnerships with U.S. allies and promotes interoperability. The Stennis carrier strike group’s mission “often includes presence operations, and when we work in combined airspace, we show strength through resolve. We’re not just two aircraft carriers passing by each other at sea, we’re working together.”
The 5th Fleet area of operations includes the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.
The U.S. Navy also conducted cooperative submarine hunting exercises on April 15 with the Indian Navy in the 7th Fleet area of the Indian Ocean.
Both navies used P-8 Orion aircraft plus the American USS Spruance (DDG-111) worked on anti-submarine warfare training and coordination drills.
The U.S. contributors, made up of DDG-111 and P-8A aircraft from patrol Squadron-8, were conducting routine operations in 7th Fleet. India used P-8I aircraft from naval Air Squadron 312 based in Indian Naval station Rajali.
“The U.S. Navy is committed to engaging with regional partners in establishing common practices and developing mutual capabilities. Spruance is proud to exercise alongside the Indian Navy,” U.S. Navy Cmdr. Matthew Smidt, commanding officer of USS Spruance, said in a statement.
Smidt added that the U.S. personnel were impressed by the professionalism and competency of their Indian counterparts.
“The exercise was a wonderful experience and opportunity from which we learned and honed our skills,” he said.