Foreign Forces

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 15, 2024

USNI News Graphic

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of July 15, 2024, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

Ships Underway

Total Battle Force DeployedUnderway
297
(USS 236, USNS 61)		103
(USS 71, USNS 32)		76
(49 Deployed, 28 Local)

In the South China Sea

Sailors man the rails...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/15/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-july-15-2024

Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Leaves on Deployment, USS Theodore Roosevelt Now in the Middle East

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departing San Diego, Calif., on July 11, 2024. Photo via Warshipcam on X

With no fanfare, aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) left San Diego Bay Thursday to begin a planned Pacific deployment, Navy officials confirmed to USNI News.
Ship spotters saw Lincoln depart its berth at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., on Thursday

Now off the coast of California, Lincoln will embark aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 9 and serve as the flag ship for Carrier Strike...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/12/carrier-uss-abraham-lincoln-leaves-on-deployment-uss-theodore-roosevelt-now-in-the-middle-east

Japanese Defense White Paper Warns Pacific at Greatest Risk Since WWII

Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning in the Philippine Sea. JSDF Photo

In its annual defense white paper released on Friday, Japan’s Ministry of Defense warned that the possibility of a situation similar to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine occurring in the Indo-Pacific. Japan also again singling out China, North Korea and Russia as threats to Japan and the region.

Meanwhile, the head of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has resigned over misconduct by JMSDF personnel, namely routine mishandling...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/12/japanese-defense-white-paper-warns-pacific-at-greatest-risk-since-wwii

Biden Announces More Military Aid to Ukraine, Zelensky Wants Less Restrictions on Russian Targets

Honor guardsmen stand in formation before a bilateral exchange between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., July 2, 2024. DoD Photo

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday Washington is sending a second Patriot air defense system to Ukraine as part of the latest round of aid to Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the $225 million aid package “strong news.” But again he asked the United States...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/11/biden-announces-more-military-aid-to-ukraine-zelensky-wants-less-restrictions-on-russian-targets

China Sends Record Number of Military Aircraft to Drill Near Taiwan, Japan Releases Report on Helicopter Accident

A People’s Liberation Army Navy bomber off the coast of Taiwan on July 10, 2024. Taiwan MND Photo

China surged 66 military aircraft near Taiwan over Wednesday and Thursday ­– the largest sortie for this year, according to the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense. Fifty-six aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and of those 36 People’s Liberation Army Navy’s drilled with the Shandong Carrier Strike Group, according to MND.

The aircraft and seven Chinese warships were seen from 6...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/11/china-sends-record-number-of-military-aircraft-to-drill-near-taiwan-japan-releases-report-on-helicopter-accident

Navy Sets Up New Uncrewed Task Force in Europe, Africa

Undated photo of Triton. Ocean Aero Photo

For the past six months, the Navy has been studying the integration of uncrewed systems in a program out of Naval Forces Europe-Africa.

Task Force 66, established in November, is similar to Task Force 59 in Central Command or Southern Command’s hybrid force, Rear Adm. Michael Mattis told USNI News last week. The task force is made up of 40 civilian and military personnel, according to a Navy release announcing the creation.

What makes Task Force 66...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/11/navy-sets-up-new-uncrewed-task-force-in-europe-africa

DIA Report on Iranian Weapons Smuggled to the Houthis

The following is the July 10, 2024, Defense Intelligence Agency report, Seized at Sea: Iranian Weapons Smuggled to the Houthis.

From the report

This product provides a visual comparison of Iranian weapons and weapon components interdicted in transit to the Houthis in Yemen on 11 and 28 January 2024. Photographs of missiles displayed by the Iranians—as well as debris acquired from previous Houthi attacks, compared with those of the interdicted materiel—strongly indicate their Iranian origin....

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/11/dia-report-on-iranian-weapons-smuggled-to-the-houthis

Chinese Carrier Strike Group Operating in Philippine Sea

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy Shandong Carrier Strike Group. JSDF Photo

China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy Shandong Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the Philippine Sea, marking the first time this year that the aircraft carrier has deployed outside of the South China Sea.
The last deployment to the Philippine Sea was in October and November of last year. A joint PLAN-Russian Navy patrol is also currently operating in the Philippine Sea, while Russia also dispatched two...

https://news.usni.org/2024/07/09/chinese-carrier-strike-group-operating-in-philippine-sea

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