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India Begins Multinational Naval Exercise Milan, Deploys Two Carriers – AARON-MATTHEW LARIOSA FEBRUARY 20, 2024 7:17 PM

Courtesy of Indian Navy

The Indian Navy deployed two carrier battle groups to the Bay of Bengal for New Delhi’s multinational naval drill Exercise Milan 2024.

INS Vikramaditya (R33) and INS Vikrant (R11) and their accompanying escorts, as well as other Indian Navy warships, maritime patrol aircraft and drones, are slated to participate in one of the region’s largest multilateral naval drills from Feb. 19 to 27.

Exercise Milan – whose name is based on the Hindi word for unification – began in 1995 with the navies of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia participating. Since then, the biennial naval drills have ballooned as New Delhi’s maritime engagement increased. Divided into in-port and at-sea phases, Milan 2024 will host more than 50 participating nations, 35 vessels, 50 aircraft and various delegations. This is a marked increase from 39 participants in 2022’s iteration.

Notable non-Indian Navy vessels partaking in 2024’s drills include the USS Halsey (DDG-97), HMAS Warramunga (FFH-152), JS Sazanami (DD-113), KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (367), IRIS Dena (75), Varyag (011) and Marshal Shaposhnikov (543).

Before 2020, the drills took place within the Andaman Nicobar Command, the Indian military’s theater command responsible for defending New Delhi’s islands directly adjacent to the strategic Strait of Malacca, which separates the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific. With the exercise’s influx of participants, India moved the drills to the Eastern Naval Command’s area of responsibility at the port city of Visakhapatnam.

Milan 2024 will be the first time India’s indigenously built aircraft carrier participates in an international exercise. Commissioned in 2022, the 45,000-ton Vikrant is expected to carry a plethora of Indian and foreign aircraft from the United States, Russia and France. Last year, India chose Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M over Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet for the carrier’s air wing.

According to an Indian Navy press release on the exercise, Milan is a “congregation of friendly navies” and describes participants as “friendly foreign countries.” In Milan 2024, notable participants include Quadrilateral Security Dialogue countries the United States, Japan and Australia, as well as traditional partners such as Russia.

China, which most Indians view as the country’s most pressing threat, was not invited to the exercise. Three years ago, New Delhi and Beijing fought each other in a violent clash in the Himalayas that left multiple dead, wounded and captured on both sides.

In recent years, the Indian Navy has bolstered its efforts as the People’s Liberation Army Navy has been increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean region. From deploying submarines and spy ships to seizing a strategic port in Sri Lanka, China’s push into India’s backyard has raised the alarm for the Indian Navy. Last year, it was reported that the service was eyeing an additional aircraft carrier and a force of 160 ships by 2030.

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Senator Malcolm Roberts has questioned whether Royal Australian Navy vessels were at a publicity photo shoot instead of attending the search and rescue of a fatal MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash during Talisman Sabre 2023.

 

The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America sails in formation with the Royal Australian Navy Canberra Class landing helicopter dock ship HMAS Adelaide, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Izumo, Republic of Korea Navy amphibious assault ship Marado, amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay, amphibious assault ship USS New Orleans, Royal Australian Navy landing ship HMAS Choules, Republic of Korea Navy destroyer Munmu The Great, guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta, dry cargo ship USNS Matthew Perry, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force tank landing ship, JS Shimokita, Royal Australian Navy replenishment oiler HMAS Stalwart and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe during a formation exercise, as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, 29 July 2023. Photo: US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Thomas B. ContantSenator Roberts made the accusations during a Senate foreign affairs, defence and trade legislation committee (Senate estimates) meeting on 14 February.

The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter impacted waters near Lindeman Island around 11pm on 28 July last year. Military and civilian search and rescue aircraft and watercraft were tasked with search rescue and recovery operations at the incident site on 29 July immediately following the crash.

Aircrew lost during the night-time training activity included Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, and Corporal Alexander Naggs.

HMAS Huon minehunter, Australian Defence Vessel Reliant and Royal Australian Navy clearance divers later recovered items such as crew personal effects, helicopter and a voice and flight data recorder.

“The United States Navy has taken a photo and it’s dated 29 July. It’s an obvious photo shoot of the Talisman Sabre fleet and, in it, they say that the American ships are sailing in formation with the Royal Australian Navy Canberra Class landing helicopter dock ship HMAS Canberra as part of the Talisman Sabre photo shoot,” Senator Roberts said during the meeting.

“This shows an Australian vessel at the photo shoot on the 29th and it wasn’t searching for the wreckage or the bodies from the downed Taipan.

“Were you embarrassed about the ship not being engaged in the search area, but off on a photoshoot?”

Senator Roberts had previously requested a list of vessels present in the area of operations and those tasked to the search and rescue operation, which was taken on notice during a Senate meeting in October last year. He was later allegedly notified by the Defence Department that “Defence does not comment on the operational tasking of its assets”.

Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell, speaking at the Senate estimates, said Defence staff were correct in advising Senator Roberts that the department does not comment on operational tasking.

“I know that our people engaged in that exercise were very conscious of how to be of assistance in supporting that downed aircraft and, at that stage, the missing aircrew,” he said.

“Defence doesn’t comment on the operational tasking of its assets. That is correct, we don’t.

“But I want to reinforce the assurance that every asset that could be of assistance from Australia or from any of our partner nations in that exercise was tasked to be of assistance.

“This photograph is out in open water, in an extended area. There are some ships in the Australian fleet and, indeed, in the US and international partner fleet, that are not suited to the work required in confined waters and with variable depths to deal with searching for a lost helicopter and crew.

“There’s a distinction here between what is suitable and hence applied to the search and what is not suitable and not considered for the search.”

General Campbell also confirmed that HMAS Adelaide, HMAS Choules and HMAS Stalwart alongside vessels from United States Navy, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Republic of Korea took part in a photo shoot on July 29.

“The location of the photo shoot was approximately 142 nautical miles away from the crash site. While it was underway at about 0845 hours HMAS Adelaide was tasked to support the accident site in addition to those vessels already responding,” he said.

“HMAS Adelaide immediately departed the activity. The entire photo exercise was then cancelled upon receipt of HMAS Adelaide’s tasking to support search activities. HMAS Adelaide was also tasked once it was identified that additional aviation assets and logistics support was required.

“The nature of the operating environment, including constrained waters and tidal flows, limited the number of vessels that could freely navigate the identified search area.”

Royal Australian Navy Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark David Hammond, speaking at the Senate meeting, further clarified that the resources available with necessary capabilities were applied at speed during the search and rescue operation.

“That large array of ships in the photograph is in open water, some distance from land. It is routine to mark the beginning or the end of a large naval exercise with a group photograph,” he said.

“There are Australian ships that are not in that photograph, because they were engaged in the search and rescue effort in confined waters inside the Whitsunday Islands.

“Had all of those ships been in that search area, we would have had a problem; there just isn’t enough sea room.

“The focus was on conducting a surface search initially for survivors, as I understand it, and for signs of wreckage. There were civilian craft involved and there were aircraft, rotary wing and fixed-wing, and there was no shortage of assets for that search; that very tragic incident.

“I understand your frustration. I am not in a position to answer why there was not a more fulsome response.”

Senator Roberts concluded that Defence had been excessively evasive in its response for no apparent reason.

“When we’ve seen what we’ve seen with the Taipans and been horrified by the loss of life on those Taipans, and then we see the nice photo shoot that we were on, we have a duty to ask those questions,” he said during the Senate estimates meeting.

“We didn’t get the damn answers. We were led astray. It was suppressed.

“What you have said makes sense to me. You’re not going to have a US aircraft carrier ploughing around in the Whitsundays looking for a helicopter; I get that. You had at least one boat out in open waters; I get it. Why couldn’t we have been told that? What is Defence repeatedly trying to hide?

“We have seen issue after issue which Defence seems sensitive about.

“There are many issues that have not been talked about openly … It is not just my frustration; it is my deep sadness at the loss of life which seems to have been unnecessarily lost in those Taipans. It borders on anger, though, when it could have been avoided.”

The Defence Member and Family Helpline is the first point of call for Defence members and families seeking support, information or connection with their community. They can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 1800 624 608.

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F-35B Lightning jets land on warship ahead of largest Nato exercise since Cold War Alex Walters 20th February 2024 at 12:47pm

Watch: F-35B Lightning jets of 617 Squadron on the flight deck of the HMS Prince of Wales

Ahead of the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War, F-35B Lightning jets have landed on the Royal Navy warship HMS Prince of Wales.

The Lightning jets of 617 Squadron took off from RAF Marham on Monday to join the aircraft carrier before participating in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24.

During the exercise, Nato will look to demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via the trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North America.

The 65,000-tonne warship currently sailing in the North Sea, previously carried out exercises with F-35B jets during a visit to the eastern US last autumn.

HMS Prince of Wales sailed from Portsmouth last week at short notice after its sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth had to cancel her departure when last-minute checks found an issue with the starboard propeller coupling.

Crews of both Queen Elizabeth-class carriers and dockyard staff worked around the clock to ensure HMS Prince of Wales had everything she needed.

HMS Prince of Wales will head a UK Carrier Strike Group for the exercise which, along with the jets, will include 11 helicopters as well as Royal Navy escort ships and support vessels from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, including frigate HMS Portland and tanker RFA Tidesurge.

Watch: HMS Prince of Wales sets sail for Nato’s Exercise Steadfast Defender after delay.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “It will lead an international taskforce taking part in Steadfast Defender – an exercise across multiple regions and domains from land and sea to air and space.

“Spanning several months and thousands of kilometres, it will see tens of thousands of personnel work together to showcase Nato’s ability to deter enemies and defend allied territory.”

Captain Colin McGannity, Carrier Air Wing and Strike Warfare Commander said: “It is always an exciting moment when F-35B Lightnings join the Carrier Strike Group at sea.

“It’s winter in the North Atlantic and we will face harsh weather and freezing conditions, but we are well prepared and looking forward to demonstrating our readiness to fight, whenever and wherever we get the call.”

Watch: HMS Prince of Wales practises ‘beast’ mode with F-35Bs

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First pre-production model of Army’s new Challenger 3 tank deploys to Germany for trials 20th February 2024 at 4:25pm

challenger 3 tanks sent to germany for latest trials CREDIT DE&S MOD.jpg

The Challenger 3 prototype will be put through its paces under ‘operational conditions’ to ensure it meets British Army standards (Picture: MOD DE&S)

The Army’s first pre-production Challenger 3 main battle tank has been sent to Germany to be put through its paces after rolling off the production line in Telford.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) announced that the Challenger 3 tank had been sent for final trials before production.

“The prototype will be put through its paces under operational conditions to ensure it meets British Army standards before production of final vehicles,” the post explained.

The post was accompanied by two photos appearing to show the tank being driven on a steep gradient and approaching a water obstacle.

The Challenger 3, is set to be the new Main Battle Tank for the future. Along with Ajax and Boxer, it will be “at the heart of the Army’s warfighting capability in the Heavy Brigade Combat Teams”, said the Army.

After this round of trials, it is expected that 140 tanks will be built and delivered to the British Army.

The Challenger 3 will be fitted with a new 120mm L55A1 smoothbore gun built by Rheinmetall, enabling the use of the most advanced ammunition available and commonality with many of Britain’s Nato allies.

What do we know about Challenger 3 so far?

  • The British Army will get a 140-strong fleet of Challenger 3 tanks.
  • The tanks are expected to reach initial operating capability by 2027.
  • The MOD then aims for the tanks to be fully operational by 2030.
  • It weighs 66 tonnes
  • It is a joint venture between UK-based BAE Systems and Germany-based Rheinmetall.

Watch: Expert says he’s found the ideal tank weight – and warns Challenger 3 is too heavy.

What new technology will the Challenger 3 tank feature?

  • The new tank will be fully digitised
  • It will be a 24-hour, all-weather tank
  • It will have a top speed of 60mph
  • Its main gun will fire high-velocity ammunition capable of travelling at faster speeds and have an increased range
  • Ammunition will be programmed from a new turret equipped with a 120mm smoothbore gun
  • The upgraded tank will feature a new automatic target detection and tracking system
  • They will have thermal long-range cameras and an upgraded engine with a new cooling system and suspension

Watch: Last October, Forces News took a look at the Challenger 3’s new cutting-edge digital periscope

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USS Delbert D Black concludes brief surge deployment with carrier Ford = By Diana Stancy

 


The destroyer Delbert D. Black returned to its homeport in Mayport, Florida, Sunday following a three-month surge deployment to support the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group.

Delbert D. Black departed Naval Station Mayport on Dec. 1 and joined the Ford in the eastern Mediterranean Sea to bolster deterrence efforts in the region following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October.

The brief underway tested a new concept by U.S. Fleet Forces Command head Adm. Daryl Caudle to bolster deployed strike groups with fresh destroyers and cruisers that the strike group did not initially deploy with.

The Delbert D. Black relieved the destroyers McFaul and Thomas Hudner that originally deployed with the Ford carrier strike group in May, allowing them to head home.

Ford and its strike group returned to the states last month.

“The seamless integration of Delbert D. Black into ongoing operations established proof of concept for sustained and continuous combat operations at sea, which [enhances] the surface Navy’s ability to fight and win,” Cmdr. Adam Stein, commanding officer of Delbert D. Black, said in a Navy news release.

While with the Ford, the Delbert D. Black conducted escort, screening, and warfare commander functions with the strike group. Additionally, it integrated with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 and participated in joint training evolutions with the Italian navy.

“We were ready for anything on this deployment, but still maintained high morale while answering our nation’s call,” Master Chief Keona Johnson, the warship’s command master chief, said in the Navy release. “This crew was able to maximize qualifications and become stronger warfighters.”

The Ford originally got underway from Naval Station Norfolk for its first full-length deployment in May, where it primarily operated in the European theater.

But weeks before its scheduled return, the Pentagon ordered the carrier to head to the eastern Mediterranean amid escalating tensions in the region and to provide support to Israel. Amid concerns of a broader conflict erupting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered multiple extensions to the carrier’s deployment.

The Ford finally returned to Norfolk in January, concluding 239 days at sea. The ship is now undergoing a maintenance availability focused on software upgrades and other general touch-ups.

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The USS St. Andrews (CVE-49) (originally AVG-49, later ACV-49) was assigned to MC hull 260 on 23 August 1942, a ship to be built to modified C3-S-A1 plans. She was laid down on 12 March 1943 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation of Tacoma, Washington; redesignated CVE-49 on 15 July; and launched on 31 July; sponsored by Mrs. Robert W. Morse; transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 7 December; and commissioned the same day as HMS Queen (D19) in the Royal Navy.

HMS Queen (D19)

HMS Queen served British and Allied escort forces in protecting the vital convoy supply effort across the North Atlantic in 1944, and in the Pacific campaigns in 1945. On 4 May 1945 aircraft of Queen’s 853 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, took part in Operation Judgement, the last air-raid of the European war, at Kilbotn, Norway. After hostilities ceased, she was converted to a troop carrier and used to bring British forces back from the Far East, before being returned to the United States at Norfolk, Virginia, 31 October 1946.

On arrival, Queen was decommissioned by the Royal Navy and was taken over by the U.S. Navy. In excess of Navy needs, CVE-49 was slated, in December, for disposal; struck from the Navy Register in July 1947, sold to the N.V. Stoomv, Maats, Nederland Co., Amsterdam, Netherlands and pressed into merchant service as Roebiah on 29 July 1947 (renamed President Marcos in 1967 and Lucky One in 1972). She was scrapped in Taiwan in 1972.

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HMS Curacoa was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was one of the five ships of the Ceres sub-class and spent much of her career as a flagship.

 

The ship was assigned to the Harwich Force during the war, but saw little action as she was completed less than a year before the war ended. Briefly assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in early 1919, Curacoa was deployed to the Baltic in May to support anti-Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War. Shortly thereafter the ship struck a naval mine and had to return home for repairs.

After spending the rest of 1919 and 1920 in reserve, she rejoined the Atlantic Fleet until 1928, aside from a temporary transfer to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1922–1923 to support British interests in Turkey during the Chanak Crisis. Curacoa was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1929.

In 1933, Curacoa became a training ship and in July 1939, two months before the start of the Second World War, she was converted into an anti-aircraft cruiser. She returned to service in January 1940 and, while providing escort in the Norwegian Campaign that April, was damaged by German aircraft. After repairs were completed that year, she escorted convoys in and around the British Isles for two years. In late 1942, during escort duty, she was accidentally sliced in half and sunk by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary, with the loss of 337 men.

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Surface Fleet Review: Urgency, distributed firepower and numbers key to delivering Aussie naval power

 

HMAS Stalwart conducts a dual replenishment at sea with HMA Ships Brisbane and Toowoomba (Source: Defence)


Naval power is now front and centre for the Albanese Government, with an emphasis on urgency, distributed firepower and numbers set to transform the Royal Australian Navy, but has the Surface Fleet Review truly delivered this and what are we now getting?

Providing bountiful avenues for trade, a source of food and ancient foundation myths, from the earliest days of human settlement in Australia, the ocean has played an ever increasing role in the fabric of everyday Australian life.

In contemporary life, this has only become more important, as the largest island continent on the planet with a maritime jurisdiction of in excess of 8 million square kilometres, Australia, as a nation and a people, is defined by its relationship with the ocean.

The importance of this link to the regional and global maritime commons has only become more importance over the last half decade, as COVID and mounting global tensions off the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas which have now spread to engulf the Middle East.

Further compounding this is Australia’s uneasy relationship with the historic concept known as the “tyranny of distance” which is now rapidly being replaced by a “predicament of proximity”.

The rise of this “predicament of proximity” has only been accelerated by the rapid and unprecedented expansion of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy under Xi Jinping’s ambitious and aggressive new reimagining of Communist China.

Recognising this fundamental strategic and tactical reality, the Albanese government’s Defence Strategic Review has moved to reshape the Royal Australian Navy into a flexible, future-proofed force capable of meeting the tactical and strategic operational requirements placed upon the service by the nation’s policy makers.

At the core of this renewed emphasis, the review states, “Australia’s Navy must be optimised for operating Australia’s immediate region and for the security of our sea lines of communication and maritime trade”.

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Navy, Air Force wow at Napier’s Art Deco Festival While the Navy commemorated its historic connection to Napier, the Air Force turned up with punchy air displays.

 

19 FEBRUARY, 2024

Napier welcomed the return of the New Zealand Defence Force to Hawke’s Bay for their week-long Art Deco Festival, which concluded on Sunday.

The festival, cancelled since 2021 due to the Covid-19 years and the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle last year, regularly invites the Royal New Zealand Navy to commemorate the Navy’s service to Napier during the 1931 earthquake. Royal Navy vessel HMS Veronica happened to be in Napier on 3 February 1931, and after the 7.8 magnitude quake the crew went ashore to aid the city’s residents. HM Ships Dunedin and Diomede followed soon after.

View of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Veronica berthed in Napier. A note on the back of the photograph states that it was taken two hours before the Hawke’s Bay earthquake occurred on 3rd February, 1931. 

HMS Dunedin – Brisbane

HMS Diomede

The Art Deco Festival pays homage to the period when the city rebuilt itself in the architecture of the time. People dress up in 1930s clothing and Navy personnel, wearing uniforms largely unchanged since the 1930s, blend in easily.

Like the disaster in 1931, military personnel came to the aid of Hawke’s Bay after Cyclone Gabrielle a year ago, with HMNZ Ships Canterbury, Te Mana and Manawanui berthing in Napier to offload supplies. The NZ Army and Royal New Zealand Air Force achieved access and delivered supplies to rural Hawke’s Bay and East Coast communities.

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HMNZS Manawanui and its crew attended the festival, while a contingent of personnel from HMNZS Te Kaha drove to Napier to participate in events.

Navy personnel worked for two days on community projects in Eskdale, where communities are still recovering from cyclone damage.

Over the festival the Royal New Zealand Air Force aerobatics display team, the Black Falcons, put on three displays above the Soundshell on Napier’s Marine Parade. Saturday’s display mingled with the Vintage Car Display, led by the Royal New Zealand Navy Band and sailors marching from Clive Square to Marine Parade. Members of Manawanui’s crew took part in an historic recreation, riding on a trailer towed by a restored Fordson Model F Industrial tractor – the same one that transported HMS Veronica sailors through devastated streets in 1931.

On Sunday Napier citizens gathered to witness the ringing of the bell of HMS Veronica at the Veronica Sunbay, in remembrance to those lost in the earthquake.

Commodore Mat Williams, attending as the senior representative of the Defence Force, noted that the people of Napier now regrettably know the feeling of being part of an emergency response. Today, the ships are different and both men and women come ashore, he says.

“But it is the same values and work ethic that we see today. It is our people, not our ships, where the true capability lies.”

The sombre part of the festival over, the crowd migrated to the beach for the final Black Falcon’s display overhead.

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Royal Australian Navy warship docks in Vishakhapatnam, to take part in ‘MILAN2024’ exercise

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VISAKHAPATNAM: HMAS Warramunga, an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy on Sunday arrived in Visakhapatnam to take part in the multilateral naval exercise, ‘MILAN 2024,’ the Eastern Naval Command said.
According to the Eastern Naval Command, the participation of the Australian warship is a reflection of the close maritime partnership between the two countries.
“The Sunrise Command of the #IndianNavy extends a warm welcome to HMAS Warramunga, an Anzac Class Frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Participation of the ship in #MILAN2024 is reflection of the close #maritime partnership between the two nations and navies,” Eastern Naval Command posted on X.
Earlier today, Eastern Naval Command extended a warm welcome for Corvette 20 of the Vietnam People’s Navy and USS Halsey (DDG-97) of the United States Navy.
Naval vessels from Vietnam and the United States have arrived in Visakhapatnam for the MILAN 2024 maritime exercise,” the post on X remarked.
Additionally, the visit underscores the commitment to regional security and strengthens defence partnerships. MILAN 2024 serves as a platform for navies to engage in joint exercises and enhance interoperability,” the statement added.
While observing the role of ‘MILAN 24, the post signifies, “As Visakhapatnam hosts these naval vessels, it reaffirms its role as a key maritime hub, fostering cooperation among nations committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The exercise is expected to deepen bonds of friendship and promote peace and stability across the oceans.”
Moreover, the 12th edition of the MILAN exercise will be held from February 19 to 27 in Visakhapatnam and will see the participation of over 50 countries.
The theme of the exercise is “Forging Naval Alliances for a Secure Maritime Future.”
“The 12th edition of the MILAN exercise to be held at #Visakhapatnam 19 – 27 Feb 24 aims to provide a platform for the participating navies to share ideas to enhance #security on the high seas & ensure safety of #maritime commerce for growth & prosperity of all,” the Indian Navy posted on X.
“MILAN would be an excellent platform for the participating navies to share ideas to enhance security on the high seas and ensure the safety of maritime commerce for the growth and prosperity of all. In addition to building bridges of friendship and strengthening relationships, sea exercise would enhance interoperability, enable the exchange of best practices and boost confidence to undertake missions together in the future, to tackle common challenges,” the release added.

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