Overview

• The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group led allied operations in the High North from August 23 to September 8 and remains on deployment with U.S. 6th Fleet.
• Norway released photos showing a Russian warship and a low‑flying IL‑38 aircraft tracking a U.S.–Norwegian surface action group in the Barents Sea off Finnmark.
• USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan formed the core of the surface group with HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl, later operating alongside FS Aquitaine and FGS Hamburg and supported by USNS William McLean, HNoMS Maud and FS Somme.
• While the surface group worked in the Barents Sea, USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Winston S. Churchill conducted flight operations and strike exercises in the Norwegian Sea with the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
• U.S. and allied officials frame the deployment as execution of the 2024 DoD Arctic Strategy to strengthen maritime domain awareness, interoperability and regional deterrence.