UK’s $1 billion AUKUS support request signals strong ongoing US collaboration
The latest foreign military sales request from the UK has implications for the future of the programme and collaboration between the three nations.
Carrier Strike Group forms for the first time
The UK's HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group has formed for the first time on the Westlant 19 deployment, the Royal Navy announced on 26 September.
The carrier has been joined by destroyer HMS Dragon, frigate HMS Northumberland and fleet tanker RFA Tideforce off the eastern seaboard of the US following the completion of the Canadian-led submarine hunting exercise Cutlass Fury in which Northumberland took part.
Dragon has now left the task force to join another carrier group working in the same waters off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The destroyer will form part of Carrier Strike Group 10, led by USS Dwight D Eisenhower which is undergoing a US Navy Tailored Ship's Training Availability programme.
Dragon will then re-attach to the Queen Elizabeth group ready to begin combined training with UK F-35 Lightning stealth fighters from 617 Squadron.
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