HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Carrier Strike Group exercised with ships and aircraft from the U.S. Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The exercise is the ‘Maritime Partnership Exercise’ and it is a multilateral maritime exercise between the Royal Australian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal Navy, and U.S. maritime forces, focused on naval cooperation, interoperability and regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific and “is an example of the enduring partnership between Australian, Japanese, U.K. and U.S. maritime forces, who routinely operate together in the Indo-Pacific, fostering a cooperative approach toward regional security and stability”, say the U.S. Navy.

The group recently visited Singapore. Singapore is one of over 40 countries which the Carrier Strike Group will visit or exercise with during its global deployment.

Commodore Steve Moorhouse, Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group, also said in a news release:

“The Carrier Strike Group’s deployment has been designed to recognise the importance of the region globally. The Group’s presence also demonstrates our support for the freedom of navigation passage through vital trading routes and our commitment to an international system of norms that benefits all countries.

So thank you Singapore for your support to the Carrier Strike Group’s deployment, for contributing to air exercises alongside our jets and supporting HMS Queen Elizabeth’s pit stop at Changi. We are proud to play our part in continuing to grow and deepen the Singapore-UK relationship.”

As part of its maiden operational deployment, the Carrier Strike Group will sail over 26,000 nautical miles, engaging with 40 countries from the Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific and back again.

The Carrier Strike Group includes ships from the United States Navy, the Dutch Navy, and Marines from the US Marine Corps as well as air assets from 617 Sqn, 820 NAS, 815 NAS and 845 NAS.

The Carrier Strike Group.

Not pictured above is an Astute class submarine that is with the group.

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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Dern
Dern
2 years ago

If nothing else CSG-21 has been a quality source of Photexes.

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago

Not quite sure what he’s worried about according to one or two of the resident experts here on UKDJ. Half a dozen US subs will get the job done I’m sure. Plus, they have no idea how to fight a war anyway. Take your time and don’t panic! “Mike Gallagher, a Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, said if Washington stuck to its current approach it would lose a new Cold War with China within a decade. Relations between the US and China are tense, with Beijing accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of being hostile. A number of… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Nigel Collins
netking
netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Paul.P

I would take the “Catches US off guard” part with a grain of salt as there has been reports of China working on a FOBS capability for years now.

Gunbuster
Gunbuster
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

The Soviets had Fobs capability over 50years ago with depressed trajectory SLBMs off of the US Coast.

netking
netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Gunbuster

There have been rumors of a renewed Russian interest in fobs as a hedge against US ABM maturation. Interestingly some reporting suggest that the Russians believe that the x-37b can be armed with multiple nuclear warheads and see that platform as an evolutionary step forward in the fobs concept.

Andy Reeves
Andy Reeves
2 years ago
Reply to  Gunbuster

if it missed by 20 miles whats the big deal?

netking
netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Andy Reeves

It’s a big deal because they will continue to test and refine this weapon and as is there is currently no way to defend against it.

Jonathan
Jonathan
2 years ago
Reply to  Andy Reeves

Twenty miles is a long way. if you took say an air burst 1MT air burst, your looking a broken windows and likely minor treatable burns even in the open, with any form of shelter if it’s ground burst, there would be less over pressure and thermal energy, but if your down wins your a bit buggered.

Pete
Pete
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonathan

And trident went in what direction a few years ago ? Anyway..China is denying the issue but they are very rapidly building a robust capability. Even moderate technical capability coupled with critical mass is rapidly becoming very daunting.

Tommo
Tommo
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

Netking ,talking of China now their having a go at Canada for traversing the Straits of Taiwan this is getting better than the Generation Games Conveyor belt what Countries up next for the transit I’ll put France as a no show

Mr Bell
Mr Bell
2 years ago
Reply to  Tommo

Funny. France and Germany. No shows. Too frightened of upsetting China in case they decide those trade deals with France and Germany are rescinded.

Tommo
Tommo
2 years ago
Reply to  Mr Bell

It’s the same old story ,rather Faust in nature making a pact with the devil he’ll soon want his payment , but will the EU back Ftance and Germany or the West Mr Bell ? Time will tell

Henry
Henry
2 years ago
Reply to  Mr Bell

Germany has a warship in the SCS as well. The Bayern I believe. And France has assets in Bay of Bengals with the Quad..

Watcherzero
Watcherzero
2 years ago
Reply to  Paul.P

China is saying it wasnt a hypersonic missile, it was just a spacecraft scale model atmospheric re-entry test. If it was a Hypersonic missile they would probably be boasting of it so it does make that claim more credible. Though of course atmospheric re-entry vehicle design is dual use technology.

Netking
Netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Watcherzero

Keep in mind that over a month ago, the US air force secretary and the head of norad disclosed that China had recently tested a fobs like weapon. It looks pretty certain that this was what they were referring to.

Tommo
Tommo
2 years ago
Reply to  Watcherzero

Watcher , read that their Hypersonic missle launched circled the earth in a low orbit returned but missed its intended Target by miles ,So yes as it missed no Cheering or boasting from the Party ,and a quick excuse of ” What Hypersonic missle oh no it was a spacecraft that we were testing “

netking
netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

Lol, Myself and many others have been posting about the almost unprecedented speed of capability build-up by the Chinese military and we’re normally greeted with the usual school boy level nonsense and hubris. Someone will soon respond to this post by claiming that they can’t even build a good jet engine so we have nothing to worry about.

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

Or furbish their expected ten carriers with aircraft that have jet engines!

If this isn’t a wake-up call for us to spend more on defence I really don’t know what is.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2021/09/29/china-preps-rollout-of-a-new-carrier-based-fighter-jet/

Last edited 2 years ago by Nigel Collins
Robert Blay.
Robert Blay.
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

Or maybe building international partnerships like with the nations taking part in these exercises is the way to go. I’d like to see how you would fund this large fantasy increase in defence spending? You surely must understand the pressures on today’s economy? Or maybe put the same time and energy in picking apart the problems and delays with Chinese military projects. You would have a field day.

Jonathan
Jonathan
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

The threat of China to the U.K. is more economic than military. We are both so fare apart, neither nation will every be much of a military threat to the other, the tyranny of distance will aways be the major deciding factor in any conflict involving the U.K. and China.

Robert Blay.
Robert Blay.
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

Yeah but they really can’t make a good fighter engine 😄

Netking
Netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Robert Blay.

lol, you are correct, they have struggled with jet engine tech which as I understand, very very few have mastered. I certainly don’t think jet engine tech will be the deciding factor if heaven forbid there is armed conflict with China and the west.

Robert Blay
Robert Blay
2 years ago
Reply to  Netking

No, probably not, but it can affect availability in a big way. I think a lot of Chinese tech is bigged up to be something it’s not. The J20 for example is no F22, or a Typhoon probably wouldn’t trouble an F15C. And you would have to question the training and experience of the crew’s. No access to Red Flags and Joint Warriors ect, or real world operations. And that experience makes a huge difference. Even with on paper large numbers, coordinating it all, and having the situational awareness to make it all affect, takes a lot of traning and… Read more »

Netking
Netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Robert Blay

Yes the jury is still out on a lot of the Chinese military tech but I think the prudent position is to plan for the worst and hope it’s all hype. I see no reason to doubt their technical ability especially in the field of aeronautics based on the things they have done in the last few years, accomplishing things that have only been done by the US and the Russians which both had a huge head start on them. In terms of the j-20 vs a western aircraft I think you are simplifying that scenario way too much. If… Read more »

Robert Blay
Robert Blay
2 years ago
Reply to  Netking

I wasn’t really thinking about a 1v1, but that doesn’t really matter. You are correct in saying if you are down to a visual engagement then things have gone badly wrong. Situational awareness is king and everyone wants to shoot the bad guy in the face from 30+ miles away, and then get the hell out of their. And in that scenario, F22 and especially F35 will excel. Typhoon too once it receives radar 2. The jury is still very much out on the J20 about how stealthy it really is, those large canards won’t help, and the quality of… Read more »

Frank62
Frank62
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

We dismissed the Japs before getting a good kicking in WW2. Seems we’re still good at underestimating our enemies.
Any nuclear strike would trash the planet, no matter how well bunkered you may be given MAD.

Ron5
Ron5
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

@Nigel C

Stop taking every opportunity to piss all over the UK and US military.

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago
Reply to  Ron5

Or state the facts rather than fantasy?

“Mike Gallagher, a Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee,”

Enjoy your breakfast in the states Ron5

I recall you telling me this problem was fixed?

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/24/the-pentagon-will-have-to-live-with-limits-on-f-35s-supersonic-flights/

Last edited 2 years ago by Nigel Collins
Chris
Chris
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

Until China gets a multi generational leap in submarine technology, they are just building targets. Their latest submarines are still louder than soviet boats built in the 1970’s. The CSG found all 3 type 93’s at sea in two days with two frigates passively listening.

netking
netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Not sure where you’re getting info from but even if all that is true, would anyone be surprised if they do make that multi-generational leap?

Jason M Holmes
Jason M Holmes
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

They’ll do it from hacking and stealing industrial and intellectual data as they always have.

netking
netking
2 years ago
Reply to  Jason M Holmes

Comes back to the old saying….All is fair in love and war!!!

Doesn’t matter how they got it once they have it and can reproduce it in ever larger quantities.

Supportive Bloke
Supportive Bloke
2 years ago
Reply to  netking

Not so easy to make the quiet primary pumps.

The reason the UK **had** to be included in the AUKUS deal is the sharing of technology. There is UK tech in US subs. That is the nature of collaboration.

Don’t forget we had a very advanced nuclear power industry, until it was ditched. The only bit we kept, thank god, was RR submarine reactors.

netking
netking
2 years ago

“Not so easy to make the quiet primary pumps.”

This is very true if you have to do all the work from scratch but again, the amount of industrial espionage undertaken by China over the last few decades is shocking. Just look at a high res image of the j20 and see how much of the f35 they copied.

That’s not to say they are not missing some very important bits but by stealing lots of research and design info, its possible they have skipped possibly decades of work if they had to do it alone.

Mr Bell
Mr Bell
2 years ago
Reply to  Jason M Holmes

They might already have done so. One of the quietly mentioned, not widely published reasons Australia didnt switch to a French Nuclear poweredsub instead of diesel electric, was becsuse the French Barracuda class designs were hacked by Chinese state players. Piss poor cyber security. So you can bet China have the very latest French deigned attack submarine to reverse engineer. Say 3 to 5 years before a miraculous new development and dedign comes out.
Australia were really peeved and rightly assumed any purchase of French built SSNs would be a known commodity to the PLAN.

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago
Reply to  Mr Bell
Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Where is this information stated?

Jason M Holmes
Jason M Holmes
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris

And who gave this data away?

Deep32
Deep32
2 years ago
Reply to  Jason M Holmes

Evening mate, @NK and @JMH, I think what @Chris is referring to is a article on this site several weeks ago, which alluded to the fact that 3 PRC SSNs were detected attempting to trail the CSG. Not sure about the two day timeframe though. You may have to trawl back a month or so to find the article.

Mr Bell
Mr Bell
2 years ago
Reply to  Jason M Holmes

The French. See above.

Bluemoonday
Bluemoonday
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

Lol the irony of it.

Yes, the Chinese sure are threatening
Just look at all those Chinese CSG’s steaming around the world!

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago
Reply to  Bluemoonday

Always good to hear from some who has done his homework!

400 warships by 2025 and counting.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/29/chinas-new-aircraft-carrier-underlines-need-for-the-aukus-pact

Last edited 2 years ago by Nigel Collins
Mr Bell
Mr Bell
2 years ago
Reply to  Bluemoonday

Just a matter of time. When the PLAN has type 55 destroyers (really cruisers) and their new Type003 and 004 carriers in service they might veey well be capable of sailing a potent carrier strike group or 2 around the world.

Nigel Collins
Nigel Collins
2 years ago
Reply to  Nigel Collins

They will be used to protect the carriers, I doubt they have been built purely for regional conflicts! “China launched eight Type 055 large destroyers as of the end of 2020, after the first ship was launched on June 28, 2017, eastday.com reported. The remaining six Type 055s are being outfitted or are in sea trials.7 Mar 2021″ “The Type 055 destroyers are the largest surface combatant currently being built in the world with a length of 180 meters, a beam of 20 meters and a draft of 6.6 meters for a full load displacement of about 13,000t (compared to the US… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Nigel Collins
Lusty
Lusty
2 years ago

That’s an outstanding shot.

dave12
dave12
2 years ago

You did serve in the RN right ?

Klonkie
Klonkie
2 years ago
Reply to  dave12

ignore him Dave- he always stirs the pot

Mr Bell
Mr Bell
2 years ago

Agree time for UK, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore,Canada, Australia, New Zealand and USA to build build build. Every warship we build has to then be countered by 1 or 2 PLAN warships. Together as an alliance vs PLAN the Chinese will need to outstrip a large alliance to win any conflict. That parity wont happen at a local level until 2030. So we have a few years to get some warships and subs built asap. Type 31,32,26 and even new type 83 destroyers cannot happen soon enough.

expat
expat
2 years ago

A little off topic but great walkthrough of the T26 being built on Navy lookout. As well as analysis of UK shipbuilding.

A big future for UK shipbuilding | Navy Lookout

Frank62
Frank62
2 years ago

That’s exactly what’s needed to check PRC aggression. Anything that doesn’t fit the CCPs agenda is “hostile”/ “aggressive”/ “colonial” etc. Trying to annex the SCS is like me annexing the whole 3/4 mile road I live on, then calling the neighbours & everyone else who uses it quite legitimately, belligerent etc for complaining or opposing the farce. Then there’s Tibet, the Uygurs, HK, state wide repression etc. We’ve cosied up to China too long, filling their coffers so they can now do what they like.

Dangerous times.