The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has concluded its role at the centre of NATO’s Neptune Strike 25-3 exercise, a five-day demonstration of allied naval power directed at deterring Russian aggression on the European continent.
Running from 22 to 26 September, Neptune Strike 25-3 brought together more than 10,000 sailors, soldiers, aviators and marines from 13 allied nations.
The exercise, led by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) from its headquarters in Oeiras, Portugal, spanned the Mediterranean, Adriatic, North and Baltic Seas.
A U.S. Navy photograph from the North Sea captured Gerald R. Ford sailing in tight formation with the French frigate FS Bretagne, the Danish frigate Niels Juel, and the American destroyers USS Mahan and USS Winston S. Churchill, while MH-60S helicopters circled overhead. NATO said the imagery underscored its commitment to collective defence, with the carrier strike group operating as the centrepiece of its deterrent posture in northern waters.
Beyond the carrier group, the exercise also involved amphibious and submarine elements. Turkey’s flagship, the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, Italy’s landing ship ITS San Giorgio, and the U.S. command ship USS Mount Whitney supported multinational task groups.
Drills included carrier-based sorties, amphibious landings in southern Italy, submarine patrols, surface warfare operations, and a mass casualty training scenario.
The exercise concluded against the backdrop of repeated Russian air and drone incursions into allied airspace in both the Baltic and Arctic, incidents that have raised concerns among NATO members about Moscow’s intent to probe alliance defences.