RFA Argus photographed off the coast at Devonport. RFA Lyme Bay in the Mediterranean
New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) The UK’s Littoral Response Group (LRG) arrived in Chennai on Tuesday as the first engagement of its deployment to the Indian Pacific region.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Argus and RFA Lyme Bay conducted maritime exercises with the Indian Navy as they entered the Arabian Sea and will now undergo essential maintenance at the Larsen & Toubro shipyard in Kattupalli near Chennai, the British High Commission said.
This is the first time a Royal Navy vessel will undergo maintenance at an Indian shipyard — a direct result of the logistics-sharing agreement signed between the UK and India in 2022.
British High Commission’s Defence Advisor, Brigadier Nick Sawyer, said: “The visit of the Littoral Response Group attests to the UK’s capability and commitment to the Indo-Pacific. The sight of Royal Navy ships undergoing essential maintenance at an Indian shipyard is yet another example of the India-UK Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in practice.”
“It also signals the continued growing importance of the strategic defence partnership between the UK and India as we build towards achieving the ambition set out in the India-UK 2030 Roadmap.”
Following the completion of its maintenance in India, the LRG will operate in the Indo-Pacific to conduct training, exercises, and wider engagement with allies and partners.
The UK and India committed to continue strengthening ties during the visit of Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to the UK in January this year. In the same month, the UK launched Defence Partnership-India — a bespoke office designed to further defence collaboration between the two countries. This includes sending the UK’s Littoral Response Group (South) to India for joint exercises and use of the Indian dockyard at Chennai for essential maintenance.
The UK has also announced plans for the Carrier Strike Group 2025 to visit the Indo-Pacific, which includes the intent to operate and train with the Indian Armed Forces.
The logistics-sharing agreement between the UK and India allows for the provision of logistic support, supplies and services between the UK and Indian Armed Forces, for joint training, joint exercises, authorised port visits and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.
In the coming years, the UK and India will also embark on more complex exercises between their respective militaries, building up to a landmark joint exercise to be conducted before the end of 2030, supporting shared goals of protecting critical trade routes and upholding the international rules-based system.
Disclaimer: This story has not been edited by the Sakshi Post team and is auto-generated from syndicated feed.
MARCH 25, 2024 2:29 PM – UPDATED: MARCH 25, 2024 8:21 PM
USNI News Graphic
These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of March 25, 2024, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.
Ships Underway
Total Battle Force
Deployed
Underway
293 (USS 233, USNS 60)
95 (USS 63, USNS 32)
53 (38 Deployed, 15 Local)
In Japan
Japanese visitors wait in line for a tour of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), during the 28th annual Spring Festival celebration. Scheduled during Japan’s cherry blossom season, the 28th annual Spring Festival on March 23, 2024. US Navy Photo
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) is in port in Yokosuka. The carrier is set to depart for the East Coast later this year. USS George Washington (CVN-73) will replace Reagan in Japan.
In the Philippine Sea
USS America (LHA-6) and the Kongo-class destroyer JS Kongo (DDG-173) on March 24, 2024. US Navy Photo
USS America (LHA-6) is operating with the U.S. destroyers USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) and USS Dewey (DDG-105) and the Kongo-class destroyer JS Kongo (DDG-173) in the Philippine Sea as of Sunday, according to information from U.S. 7th Fleet.
In the South China Sea
Ambassador to Singapore Jonathan Kaplan places a cover on his head after touring the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), March 21, 2024. US Navy Photo
Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) arrived Singapore on Wednesday for a regularly scheduled port visit and was spotted departing Singapore on Saturday, according to ship spotters.
The carrier has been using older C-2A Greyhounds as a temporary carrier-onboard delivery vehicle while the CMV-22B fleet was grounded following the November crash of an Air Force MV-22B Osprey off the coast of Japan.
Earlier this month, the grounding of the Ospreys was lifted and the Navy has begun recertifying crews and aircraft for the logistics operations.
Carrier Strike Group 9
Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Pasquale Antonecchia, from N.Y., carries an air tank aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), March 12, 2024. US Navy Photo
Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), homeported at San Diego, Calif.
Carrier Air Wing 11
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the ‘Blue Blasters’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 34, prepares to land aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), March 13, 2024. US Navy Photo
The “Fist of the Fleet” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 25 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
The “Black Knights” of VFA 154 – F/A-18F – from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
The “Blue Blasters” of VFA 34 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
The “Flying Checkmates” of VFA 211 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Rooks” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137 – EA-18G – from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
The “Liberty Bells” of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 115 – E-2D – from Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif.
The “Providers” of Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 40 – C-2A – from Naval Station, Norfolk, Va.
The “Wolf Pack” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 – MH-60R – from Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.
The “Eightballers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 – MH-60S – from Naval Air Station North Island.
Cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70), homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif.
Destroyer Squadron 23
Sailors load a Mark 46 torpedo into a surface vessel torpedo tube (SVTT) aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) on March 21, 2024. US Navy Photo
Destroyer Squadron 23 is based in San Diego and is embarked on Theodore Roosevelt.
USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), homeported at Naval Station Everett, Wash.
USS Halsey (DDG-97), homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif.
USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118), homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
In the Western Pacific
USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) transits through Truman Bay before arriving at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) on March 11, 2024. US Coast Guard Photo
The National Security Cutter USCGC Bertholf(WMSL-750) was operating near Guam as of Monday. USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) is in port in Dutch Harbor Alaska. USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) is underway on its first deployment since the cutter relocated to Hawaii. As of Monday, the cutter was underway in the Coral Sea.
In the Red Sea
An Aerographer’s Mate takes a weather reading aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Red Sea, March 12, 2024. US Navy Photo
U.S. ships are continuing to patrol the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, the U.S.-led multinational effort to protect ships moving through the region. Houthi forces in Yemen continue to attack merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while U.S. naval forces in the region have continued self-defense strikes against Houthi weapons that U.S. Central Command says are a threat to naval and merchant ships. Houthi forces say they are targeting ships with connections to the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Israel.
As of Monday, the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was operating in the Red Sea.
Ike deployed on Oct. 14, while several of the carrier’s escorts left on Oct. 13. The carrier transited the Strait of Gibraltar on Oct. 28 and transited the Suez Canal on Nov. 4.
The U.N. Security Council on Jan. 10 approved a resolution calling on Yemen’s Houthi rebel group to “cease its brazen” attacks in the Red Sea.
Carrier Strike Group 2
Sailors participate in flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Red Sea, March 12, 2024. US Navy Photo
Carrier
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), homeported at Norfolk, Va.
Carrier Air Wing 3
The “Gunslingers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
The “Fighting Swordsmen” of VFA 32 – F/A-18F – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Rampagers” of VFA 83 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Wildcats” of VFA 131 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Zappers” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 – EA-18G – from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
The “Screwtops” of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 123 – E-2D – from Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va.
The “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 – C-2A – from Naval Air Station Norfolk.
The “Swamp Foxes” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74 – MH-60R – from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
The “Dusty Dogs” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 7 – MH-60S – from Naval Station Norfolk.
Cruiser
A seaman simulates fighting a fire during a general quarters drill aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) in the Red Sea, March 1, 2024. US Navy Photo
USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Destroyer Squadron 22 Destroyer Squadron 22 is based in Norfolk, Va., and is embarked on Eisenhower.
USS Gravely (DDG-107), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
USS Mason (DDG-87), homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.
On Saturday, the Houthis launched five anti-ship ballistic missiles toward M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker that is owned and operated by Chinese companies.
A small fire broke out on the ship, which was extinguished. While the ship put out a distress call, no assistance was requested. The ship, which recently changed ownership from a British company, continued on its course.
Later that day, USS Carney (DDG-64) and other U.S. forces tracked six Houthi drones over the Red Sea, with five crashing into the water and the sixth flying into Yemen.
On Friday, Central Command forces destroyed four Houthi drones as well as conducted strikes against three Houthi underground storage facilities.
The Houthis also fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles toward the Red Sea, but they did not hit any ships.
On Thursday, a coalition aircraft destroyed a Houthi-launched unmanned surface vessel. Central Command did not provide additional details about the coalition aircraft.
Coalition forces also shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis.
On Wednesday, an unidentified coalition aircraft shot down one unmanned aerial vehicle. CENTCOM forces also destroyed one unmanned surface vessel.
On Monday, CENTCOM forces successfully destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three UAVs, and three weapons storage containers in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
In the Persian Gulf
U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) are forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA). PATFORSWA deploys Coast Guard personnel and ships with U.S. and regional naval forces throughout the Middle East. Initially deployed in 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, PATFORSWA is now a permanent presence based out of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In the Eastern Pacific
A sailor assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49) observes Amphibious Combat Vehicles attached to Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct an open-water transit to onload Harpers Ferry in the Pacific Ocean, March 20, 2024. US Marine Corps Photo
Amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4) was spotted departing San Diego, Calif., on Monday and off Camp Pendleton on Friday, according to ship spotters.
In the Middle Atlantic
US Army soldiers prepare mobile causeway sections to be loaded aboard MV Roy A. Benavides on March 15, 2024. USNI News Photo
The ships carrying pieces to build a humanitarian aid pier in Gaza are in the midst of their journey across the Atlantic.
Five U.S. Army watercraft and a Marine Administration ready reserve transport ship are underway headed to the Eastern Mediterranean. USAV General Frank S. Benson (LSV-1) left Joint Base Langley-Eustis on March 9 and as of Monday it was in the vicinity of the Azores.
On March 12, USAV SP4 James A. Loux (LSV-6) and the smaller USAV Montorrey (LCU-2030), USAV Matamoros (LCU-2026) and USAV Wilson Wharf (LCU-2011) were sailing halfway across the Atlantic. The MARAD ship MV Roy P. Benavidez (TAKR-306) left on March 21 with the majority of the modular causeway pieces for the pier loaded aboard.
Back on the East Coast, Military Sealift Command ships USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez (T-AK-3010) and USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (AK-3008) are loading parts of the Naval Beach Group One’s similar floating pier system to operate in tandem with the Army’s system.
The general concept will have the Army build a pier that will be anchored to the shore in Gaza with no U.S. personnel setting foot in Israel. The Navy will build a transfer point two to three miles offshore where cargo – likely originating in Cyprus – will be transferred to the Army watercraft to be taken to the pier.
Based on the initial timelines, the pier could be completed by mid-May.
In the Western Atlantic
The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5), assigned to the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), returns to Naval Station Norfolk following an eight and a half-month deployment operating in the U.S. 5th and U.S. 6th Fleet areas of operation, March 21, 2024. US Navy Photo
USS Bataan (LHD-5) returned to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after completing an extended deployment to the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) was spotted returning to Norfolk, Va., on Friday, according to ship spotters.
In addition to these major formations, not shown are others serving in submarines, individual surface ships, aircraft squadrons, SEALs, Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Forces, Seabees, EOD Mobile Units and more serving throughout the globe.
Watch: HMS Prince of Wales welcomed home in Portsmouth
Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has returned home to Portsmouth after taking part in Exercise Steadfast Defender – Nato’s biggest exercise since the Cold War.
A Carrier Strike Group, led by HMS Prince of Wales, completed Exercise Joint Warrior, which was one part of Steadfast Defender, earlier this month.
The 65,000-tonne vessel’s triumphant Solent return was livestreamed on the Forces News YouTube channel, which you can rewatch in full here.
Crowds lined Portsmouth’s city walls to wave and welcome the sailors home.
Watch: HMS Prince of Wales’ return to Portsmouth in full here
During the Nato training, HMS Prince of Wales was joined by more than 30 ships, four submarines, multiple aircraft from maritime patrol aircraft to F-35 Lightning jets and more than 20,000 personnel from nations including Canada, Denmark, France and Spain.
HMS Queen Elizabeth had initially been scheduled to lead the exercise, but she had to withdraw due to an issue with her propeller shaft, leading HMS Prince of Wales to step in.
Despite being given a 30-day notice, HMS Prince of Wales got ready for deployment in just a week.
Before deployment, HMS Prince of Wales was in the early stages of a maintenance period when the decision was made to sail her.
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) landing planes on 6 June 1935.The U.S. aircraft carriers USS Lexington (CV-2) (top), USS Saratoga (CV-3) (middle), and USS Langley (CV-1) (bottom) moored at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington (USA), in 1929.The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3), circa 1942. Planes on deck include five Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters, six Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers and one Grumman TBF-1 Avenger torpedo plane.USS Saratoga (CV-3), Bremerton – 1930
USS Saratoga (CV-3) was a Lexington-class aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. Originally designed as a battlecruiser, she was converted into one of the Navy’s first aircraft carriers during construction to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. The ship entered service in 1928 and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for her entire career. Saratoga and her sister ship, Lexington, were used to develop and refine carrier tactics in a series of annual exercises before World War II. On more than one occasion these exercises included successful surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was one of three prewar US fleet aircraft carriers, along with Enterprise and Ranger, to serve throughout World War II.
Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Saratoga was the centerpiece of the unsuccessful American effort to relieve Wake Island and was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine a few weeks later. After lengthy repairs, the ship supported forces participating in the Guadalcanal Campaign and her aircraft sank the light carrier Ryūjō during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942. She was again torpedoed the following month and returned to the Solomon Islands area after repairs were completed.
In 1943, Saratoga supported Allied forces involved in the New Georgia Campaign and invasion of Bougainville in the northern Solomon Islands and her aircraft twice attacked the Japanese base at Rabaul in November. Early in 1944, her aircraft provided air support during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign before she was transferred to the Indian Ocean for several months to support the British Eastern Fleet as it attacked targets in Java and Sumatra. After a brief refit in mid-1944, the ship became a training ship for the rest of the year.
In early 1945, Saratoga participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a dedicated night fighter carrier. Several days into the battle, she was badly damaged by kamikaze hits and was forced to return to the United States for repairs. While under repair, the ship, now increasingly obsolete, was permanently modified as a training carrier with some of her hangar deck converted into classrooms. Saratoga remained in this role for the rest of the war and was then used to ferry troops back to the United States after the Japanese surrender in August, as a part of Operation Magic Carpet. In mid-1946, the ship was a target for nuclear weapon tests during Operation Crossroads. She survived the first test with little damage, but was sunk by a second test. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Saratoga_(CV-3)
In 1923, the ship participated in the evacuation of Armenians fleeing the genocide and survivors of the Smyrna fire , transporting 75 people to Marseille on February 23. From 1929, the ship was a training ship in Toulon . On January 4, 1930, it ran aground on the coast of Algeria . The wreckage began to disintegrate four days later and was eventually completely destroyed, but the crew was completely rescued.
The ship was armed with a main battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns in two twin turrets. She was built at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, where she was laid down in June 1903 and launched in November 1904. She was commissioned on 3 August 1906, a few months ahead of HMS Dreadnought. The latter, armed with ten large-caliber guns, was the first of a revolutionary new standard of “all-big-gun” battleships that rendered Deutschland and the rest of her class obsolete.
Deutschland served as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet until 1913, when she was transferred to II Battle Squadron. With the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, she and her sister ships were tasked with defending the mouth of the Elbe and the German Bight from possible British incursions. Deutschland and the other ships of II Battle Squadron participated in most of the large-scale fleet operations in the first two years of the war, culminating in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. Late on the first day of the battle, Deutschland and the other pre-dreadnoughts briefly engaged several British battlecruisers before retreating.
After the battle, in which pre-dreadnoughts proved too vulnerable against more modern battleships, Deutschland and her three surviving sisters were assigned to coastal defense duties. By 1917, they had been withdrawn from combat service completely, disarmed, and tasked with auxiliary roles. Deutschland was used as a barracks ship in Wilhelmshaven until the end of the war. She was struck from the naval register on 25 January 1920, sold to ship breakers that year, and broken up for scrap by 1922. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Deutschland_(1904)
. They were scaled up to accommodate a much more powerful main battery of eight 380 mm (15 in) guns (compared to the 330 mm (13 in) guns of the Dunkerques), with increased armor to protect them from guns of the same caliber.
Richelieu (left distance) encounters the American battleship USS New Jersey at anchor in Hampton Roads on 7 September 1943 during New Jersey’s training ahead of Pacific deployment.
Richelieu was laid down in 1935 and was launched in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe. As war with Germany became increasingly likely, work on the ship was rushed to prepare her for commissioning in April 1940. Completed just days before the Germans won the Battle of France in June, Richelieu fled to Dakar in French West Africa to keep her under French control. There, she came under repeated British attacks that had been intended to either compel the battleship to join the Free French Naval Forces or sink her; these included during Operation Catapult in July 1940 and the Battle of Dakar in September.
Damaged in both attacks, the ship was slowly repaired before eventually being turned over to Free French control after the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942. After being sent to the United States for repairs and an extensive modernization, the ship served with the British Home Fleet in early 1944 before being deployed to the Eastern Fleet for operations against the Japanese in the Indian Ocean. These included several bombardment operations and in May 1945 she was present during the Battle of the Malacca Strait, though she was too far away to engage the Japanese force.
Richelieu was part of the force that liberated Singapore after the Japanese surrender in September, and she later operated in French Indochina as part of the initial effort to restore French colonial rule. Recalled to France in December 1945, she was repaired and modernized slightly in 1946. The ship saw relatively limited training in the immediate postwar years and, in 1952, she was removed from active service for use as a gunnery training ship. In 1956, she was placed in reserve and was thereafter used as a stationary training vessel and barracks ship until 1967, when the French Navy decided to discard her. She was sold for scrap in 1968, and broken up in Italy from 1968 to 1969.
