As part of a shared commitment with the US Navy to guarantee maritime stability in the various areas of interest of the so-called "enlarged Mediterranean", the Navy also contributes with its own naval units to the protection of US Navy aircraft carrier groups. In recent days, for the first time, three units of the Navy - the frigates Alpine e Fasan and the multi-purpose offshore patrol vessel "Morosini" - found themselves simultaneously carrying out this demanding task of escorting three different US aircraft carrier groups in as many areas of the globe.
The aim is to strengthen cooperation with allied countries in the context of maritime surveillance activities, a necessary requirement to support the broader concept of defense and deterrence with a clear message aimed at supporting regional stability in the areas of responsibility of the Atlantic Alliance and in the Indo-Pacific. The three groups will be engaged in the next few weeks in separate aero-naval exercises between the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the South China Sea.
Ship Alpine (in the photo, behind), which is also part of the air-naval device of the operation Safe Mediterranean, began its deployment in the Mediterranean Sea with the Carrier Strike Group 12 last June 14, alongside the first ship of the US Navy's new class of nuclear aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
Since 15 June, however, the frigate Fasan, which is currently engaged in the United States, has left its moorings from Norfolk Naval Base to participate in the Composite Training Unit Exercise (C2X). The exercise will continue over the next few weeks off the east coast of the United States and will see Nave Fasan aggregated to the naval group escorting the US aircraft carrier "Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)". The activity is aimed at obtaining the "certification" of full operation of Carrier Strike Group 2 before the next scheduled out-of-area deployment.
Ship Morosini, deployed in the Indo-Pacific for the campaign that began last April 6, has been integrated into the device of the Carrier Strike Group 5 (CSG 5), operating in the South China Sea, in support of operations led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Other allied and partner countries are also participating in the activity. For the new Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Boat it is a precious opportunity to take part in training and operational activities for the first time with an aircraft carrier group.
All of this also represents a valid opportunity to deepen the operational capabilities of the crews while renewing the already consolidated partnership between Italy and allied and partner countries.
Photo: US Navy
