In the sign of a shared commitment with the US Navy to ensure maritime stability in the various areas of interest of the so-called “enlarged Mediterranean”, the Italian Navy also contributes with its own naval units to the protection of the aircraft carrier groups of the US Navy. In recent days, for the first time, three units of the Italian Navy – the frigates Alpino and Fasan and the multipurpose offshore patrol boat “Morosini” – found themselves simultaneously carrying out this demanding task of escorting in favor of three different US aircraft carrier groups in as many areas of the globe.
The aim is to strengthen cooperation with allied countries in the field 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 coming weeks in separate air and naval exercises between the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the South China Sea.
Nave Alpino, which is also part of the naval air and naval device of Operation Safe Mediterranean, began its deployment in the Mediterranean Sea with Carrier Strike Group 12 on June 14, alongside the first ship of the new class of nuclear aircraft carriers of the US Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
Since June 15, however, the frigate Fasan, which is currently engaged in the United States, has left its moorings from the 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 the ship Fasan attached to the naval escort group of the US aircraft carrier “Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)”. The activity is aimed at achieving the “certification” of full operation of the Carrier Strike Group 2 before the next planned deployment outside the area.
Morosini ship, deployed in the Indo-Pacific for the campaign that began on April 6, has integrated into the device of 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 also participate 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 this represents a valid opportunity to deepen the operational capabilities of the crews while renewing the already consolidated partnership between Italy and its allied and partner countries.
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