Sadly the murderous mass terror attacks against Israel have complicated the geopolitical situation, alongside the continuing tensions with Russia, China, and Iran. When the US DOD directed the
Ford Carrier Strike Group to deploy to the Eastern Mediterranean; former US Navy F-14 Tomcat RIO Cdr Ward Carroll posted this on his YouTube channel:
Interestingly he notes the role of the Aegis equipped cruiser and destroyers and the carrierborne Hawkeyes and Super Hornets in defending against asymmetric threats in the air. I am reminded of a time when HMS
Ocean was deployed in the Caribbean:
HMS Ocean double drugs catch in the Caribbean -
MercoPress - 20 June 2007
The latest success came after an intense 48 hour period of operations by HMS Ocean
working closely with the US Coastguard and other law enforcement agencies in the region. Maintaining constant patrols over the region with Sea King aircraft fitted with state of the art surveillance radar, the ship has been tracking aircraft where there are indications to believe they may be attempting to smuggle cocaine out of South America. A couple of days ago two suspicious aircraft caught the Sea King's attention and the ship launched a Merlin maritime patrol helicopter of Culdrose-based 700M Squadron, to assist. The aircraft were tracked into the territorial waters of one of the Caribbean nations, where local authorities took up the trail. However, on the night of June 24 the Sea King took up the trail on another suspicious aircraft whose behavior indicated that it might be looking to drop its cargo to a boat waiting off the coast. HMS Ocean immediately launched two of its landing craft, crewed by Royal Marines of 9 Assault Squadron, which dashed ahead of the ship to the site of the likely drop. A Merlin also took off to join in the chase, equipped with a Maritime sniper team, skilled at disabling small boats' engines. The Merlin observed the suspect aircraft drop bales into the water, which were picked up by a waiting boat, and dived lower for a closer look. Alarmed by the sudden appearance of the helicopter, the boat's crew threw the bales into the sea and headed straight for the coast. The Merlin set about collecting the bales, soon to be joined by the Royal Marines' landing craft, and a local coast guard craft. In the dark ten bales were recovered (six by HMS Ocean
) and a further search of the area at first light by Merlin yielded another five.
Cdr Caroll also mentions the role of the Strike Group's helicopters in keeping tabs on surface craft - I am reminded to the deployment of Merlins aboard RFA
Fort Victoria in this exact role in the Northern Arabian Gulf in March 2003, working with frigate and destroyer based Lynxes armed with the urgently procured 0.50 calibre Heavy Machine Gun.