Warships from the United States, UK, and other allied nations are slated to begin a joint training operation in the North Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday.  The ten-day exercise, titled Saxon Warrior 2017, is intended to increase allied interoperability and collective defense capabilities in the region that has seen a sharp increase in Russian naval activities in recent years.

The United States has sent the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, as well as other ships from the 6^th fleet, to participate in the exercises, which will include a number of scenarios set to span the full spectrum of carrier strike group operations, including strategic strike, air defense operations, combat air support and enforcement of no-fly zones.

The U.S. and U.K. share a great military history, built on a shared culture of protecting freedom and defense globally,” said Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, EUCOM’s commander and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “We stand shoulder to shoulder here today to help them refine and enhance their carrier strike group capabilities.”

The Royal Navy also sent its own carrier strike group to participate in the exercises, led by its newest and most advanced warship to date, the HMS Queen Elizabeth.  With a 65,000 ton displacement and overall length of 920 feet, the Queen Elizabeth is quite a bit smaller than America’s massive Nimitz class carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, but remains one of the largest and most powerful naval vessels on the seas today.  Although the UK has yet to receive their first operational batch of F-35Bs, an agreement made in 2016 will see an American squadron of the advanced fighters on its deck until 2023.