The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group went under NATO command on Friday as part of the Neptune Strike 2022 exercise series, the deputy Pentagon press spokesperson announced.
“Neptune Strike 2022.2 and the Neptune series continues to enable multiple and unique theater-wide training opportunities necessary to integrate the high-end maritime warfare capabilities of these carrier strike groups to support alliances deterrence, and defense requirements in Europe,” Sabrina Singh told reporters Friday.
The exercise officially started Friday at the Strike Force NATO headquarters in Oeiras, Portugal, according to a U.S. 6th Fleet news release. Besides the U.S., Albania, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom are expected to participate. […]
This is the third time that NATO has assumed command of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in 2022 and the third time since the end of the Cold War. NATO previously commanded the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group during two other iterations of Project Neptune, USNI News previously reported.
Neptune Strike 2022.2 kicks off at the same time as nuclear exercise Steadfast Noon, another NATO exercise. Steadfast Noon involves aircraft from 14 different countries, according to a NATO news release. The training will take place over Belgium, the United Kingdom and the North Sea. The U.S. will send B-52 bombers, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday. Läs artikel