World's biggest warship USS Gerald R Ford dwarfs ally ships on Nato exercise
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, towered over other Nato allied ships - including Royal Navy vessels - as they sailed in formation in the Norwegian Sea.
Gerald R Ford is the US Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier and is currently on Nato's premier maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic region, Baltops 23.
Every year, the navies of various member states, including the UK, descend on the Baltic Sea for the huge multinational exercise, designed to strengthen the bonds of international partnership.
Twenty nations, 50 ships, more than 45 aircraft, and 6,000 personnel are taking part in the 52nd iteration of the exercise which began from Tallinn, Estonia, on 4 June.
Ships taking part include: USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78); Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60); the Royal Navy's Type 23 Frigate HMS Northumberland (F238) and Daring-class air defence destroyer HMS Defender (D36); British Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tide-class tanker RFA Tidespring (A136); and the Royal Norwegian Navy's Fridtjof Nansen-class Frigate HNoMS Otto Sverdrup (F312) and Skjold-class corvette HNoMS Steil (P963).
The exercise itself involves a range of training scenarios, based on potential real-world events and crises, in which the participants act as either the defending or opposing force.
They could involve any number of important maritime security tasks, including search and rescue, anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, radar tracking, and general seamanship.
Each year, the Royal Navy sends a number of vessels to take part in Exercise Baltops, including frigates, minehunters and patrol vessels.
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