The commander of a US air carrier strike group has said he is “comfortable” with the threat posed by Russia as his aircraft carrier visits the UK.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman has moored in the Solent close to Portsmouth Naval Base to allow its 5,000-strong crew a chance to visit the local area.
Rear Admiral Eugene “Gene” Black, commander of carrier strike group 8 of the US Navy, said that the 100,000-ton carrier – which has a 1,096ft long flight deck with 75 aircraft onboard – was a “symbol of power and flexibility” which could be deployed wherever needed.
Earlier this year, the commanding officer of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Captain Jerry Kyd, described the Russian threat in the Atlantic as eye-watering.
When asked by the Press Association if he agreed with this description, Rear Admiral Black said: “They are professional mariners, good aviators, I am not sure I would go as far as eye-watering, I don’t lose sleep over them.
“I’m not sure I want to go into describing the threat but I can say we bring a lot of combat power, and when you match it up with Queen Elizabeth in the near future and some of our other Nato partners, I am very very comfortable at our ability to operate where we wish, when we wish.”
Describing his ship’s capability, he added: “It is a pretty impressive symbol of power and flexibility, I can take this thing anywhere in the world, anywhere we are directed and we can work with partners and friends however we need to.”
Explaining his strike group’s deployment strategy in response to Russia, he added: “The best description is dynamic force deployment, so we are strategically predictable and operationally unpredictable.”
He continued: “We are up here operating in the north Atlantic and I think it sends the best signal possible of our commitment to Nato, our partners in the region and how seriously we take our commitments in this part of the world.”
Rear Admiral Black said that the US Navy was happy to work alongside the navy’s new aircraft carrier.
He said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have the British back in the fixed wing and aviation business, they are absolute pros, I have operated with them many times and it’s wonderful to have the Royal Navy sailing alongside you because they are as good as they come.”
When asked if he had any concerns about the F35 jets being purchased by the UK from the US to be deployed on the new carriers following a recent crash of one of the aircraft in South Carolina, he answered: “Absolutely not, I know nothing about the crash and I can’t comment either way about the F35s.”
Captain Nicholas Dienna, the carrier’s commanding officer, said his crew had been looking forward to sampling the local beer and visiting local historical sites such as HMS Victory in Portsmouth and Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
He said: “From the bottom of the hearts of 5,000 men and women embarked in or assigned to USS Harry S Truman, I would like to say thank you to the people of the UK and the people of the city of Portsmouth for allowing us to spend some well-deserved time to rest in this wonderful city.”
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