By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
We hear regularly about US Navy carriers rotating through the Pacific theater and the Mediterranean, yet the US Navy also has a continued eye on the North Sea and Baltic Sea for deterrence and allied support, given the continued Russian threat throughout Eastern Europe. The USS Truman is preparing for a series of war exercises and interoperability training in Norwegian waters with Norwegian Naval Forces, its complete Carrier Strike Group and the Royal Navy’s Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group.
As the USS Harry Truman steams through the North Sea on a scheduled deployment, maintaining carrier presence, forward operating training and support to US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, the Carrier Strike Group’s Commander Rear Adm. Sean Bailey explained the exercises in terms of collective defense and networking or interoperability.
“We will operate with our NATO Allies and partners to strengthen our collective readiness, defense, and deterrence. No nation can confront today’s challenges alone, and we look forward to showcasing our interoperability,” Bailey said in a Navy essay.
There are several critical factors likely informing this kind of deployment, particularly because the North Sea stretches from the UK all the way east to Denmark, an area opening access to the Baltic Sea bordering Eastern Europe. The North Sea is also a key geographic “center point” for NATO as it borders the UK, Europe and Scandinavia, a position which underscores the strategic importance of enabling Navies from allied countries to inter-operate. This kind of networking between countries, which can include radio, satellite and RF data link connectivity, often requires specific technical interfaces to enable seamless data exchange across otherwise incompatible transport layer communication systems.
One key idea for the US Navy is to extend its concept of Distributed Maritime Operations to NATO allies with multinational networking, as a collaborative force could disaggregate, stay connected and project power throughout the entire European continent. One thing that comes to mind with these exercises in the North Sea is the number of countries which operate the F-35 in the region, effectively creating an F-35 “wall” or “blanketed area” throughout the European continent. All F-35s, regardless of country, are engineered with what’s called a Multi-Function Advanced Datalink (MADL) which enables rapid, seamless secure exchange of intelligence and targeting information across multi-national formations.
Looking at the multi-national F-35 fleet, there is what could be described as a European epi-center, as the US, UK, Norway, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Finland and Poland are all F-35 member nations. The idea would be for a Polish F-35 to land in the UK or Germany and not only network with other NATO members while in transit but also receive maintenance and servicing upon landing. F-35-maker Lockheed Martin, for example, is now working with NATO members to enable “logistical consistency” across all F-35 member nations to
Lockheed’s Director of International Sales J.R. McDonald described this to Warrior as “interchangeability,” a term referring to a critical ability for F-35s from different member nations to provide sustainment and logistical support to one another across dispersed geographical areas.
“By 2030 there will be more than 600 F-35s in Europe, and interchangeability is the ability to work together from a logistics standpoint. For example, if a German aircraft lands in Denmark, it should be able to refuel and re-arm and go out the door,” McDonald explained. “This will take policy agreements but that is what we are working toward. “ This will take policy agreements but that is what we are working toward,” McDonald told Warrior.
