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Neptune Strike 2022

Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) and U.S. Sixth Fleet (SIXTHFLT) commenced NATO-led activity Neptune Strike 2022 from the SIXTHFLT flagship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), 24 January 2022. Neptune Strike 2022 highlights the natural evolution of NATO’s ability to integrate the high-end maritime warfare capabilities of a carrier strike group to support the defense of the Alliance. Neptune Strike 2022 accomplishes the long-planned handover of command and control of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) from SIXTHFLT to STRIKFORNATO and the wider Alliance. It is the first time since the end of the Cold War that a full US aircraft carrier group will be placed under NATO command to ensure both Alliance operational readiness and the defense and protection of Allies.

Neptune Strike '22 had been in the planning stages since 2020, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said, though he told reporters that the current tensions in Europe due to the uncertainty about Russia's intentions regarding Ukraine were considered when deciding whether to press on with the exercise. "There was due consideration ... given tensions right now, about our exercise posture," he said. "After all that consideration and discussion with our NATO allies, the decision was made to move ahead."

Kirby also told reporters that because planning for Neptune Strike '22 began in 2020, the exercise is not designed to incorporate scenarios which are directly related to current events in Europe. "It wasn't planned back in 2020 anticipating ... a Russian move on Ukraine," he said. "The exercise itself is not designed against the kinds of scenarios that might happen with respect to Ukraine. It really is a NATO maritime exercise to test ... really a wide range of maritime capabilities that we want to make sure we continue to improve."

"[Neptune Strike '22] is designed to demonstrate NATO's ability to integrate the high-end maritime strike capabilities of an aircraft carrier strike group to support the deterrence and defense of the alliance," Kirby told reporters. "The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group will be placed under NATO operational control and serve as the centerpiece for this long-planned activity that fosters NATO allies' ability to cooperate and integrate effectively."

“The capability of SIXTHFLT and STRIKFORNATO combined staffs to enable a handover of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group demonstrates the power and cohesiveness of our maritime forces and the NATO Alliance,” said Vice Adm. Gene Black, commander, SIXTHFLT and STRIKFORNATO. “NATO’s command and control of a CSG is the result of decades of Alliance maritime interoperability.”

Neptune Strike 2022 is the execution phase of a long series of activities known as Project Neptune, conceptualized in 2020. The activity focuses on overcoming the complexities of integrating command and control of a carrier strike group to NATO. Previous events in the Neptune series include table-top exercises at SIXTHFLT headquarters in Naples, Italy, last year, and a STRIKFORNATO embark in 2021 aboard Mount Whitney called Neptune Challenge. Neptune Challenge integrated the two staffs aboard Mount Whitney in the Black Sea and developed the necessary procedures enabling the successful start of Neptune Strike.

“Neptune Challenge gave our staffs an incredible opportunity to learn and grow together aboard our flagship, Mount Whitney,” said Rear Adm. James Morley, deputy commander, STRIKFORNATO. “The lessons we took from Neptune Challenge led directly into our execution of Neptune Strike, and I look forward to watching this combined team work to command and control high-end forces in real time.”

SIXTHFLT, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. STRIKFORNATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal, is Supreme Allied Commander Europe's (SACEUR) premier, rapidly deployable and flexible, maritime power projection Headquarters, capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations.