U.S Navy press release
During the meeting, the three leaders signed a trilateral cooperation agreement reaffirming their commitment to deeper co-operation and interoperability around the globe—in both operations and exercises—to meet the challenges of tomorrow and maintain a strategic advantage at sea.
“Today, we reaffirm our commitment to uphold and advance a rules-based international system together that has underpinned our mutual security and prosperity.”
“Through continued engagement and dialogue, we are no doubt strengthening our forces’ collective ability to ensure access to waterways – and the economic prosperity that flows with it. There is much to celebrate in our trilateral relationship; indeed the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Mike Gilday.
The U.S., French, and United Kingdom navies regularly operate together, including the on-going NATO exercise Steadfast Defender and Mine Countermeasures Exercise in the Arabian Gulf this past April.
“As we look to the horizon, we recognize that common challenges will only continue to increase in scale and complexity.”
“Our three naval services must be prepared to respond, together, in conflicts of varying intensity across the globe. Our trilateral training and exercise activities reflect this reality and ensure that we are able to operate together at the highest level.”
Chief of the French Navy Admiral Pierre Vandier.
The tri-lateral engagement also included a visit by the three heads of Navy to FS Charles de Gaulle and HMS Queen Elizabeth at sea.
“Today’s Trilateral Meeting between the Marine Nationale, the United States Navy and Royal Navy: the three NATO nuclear nations, and three carrier navies in the alliance, highlights our shared commitment to NATO, and our bold steps towards ever greater interoperability and interchangeability.”
“The Royal Navy’s CSG21 deployment is a clear demonstration of this: a Royal Navy carrier, which will become the NATO carrier, supported by allied fighter jets, frigates and destroyers, working as one.”
First Sea Lord, United Kingdom Royal Navy Admiral Tony Radakin
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Naval News comments:
Naval News was on site and was able to ask some questions to the three admirals.
Naval news: Admirals would you say that interoperability is more important than ever to face emerging emerging threats globally and operationally how does it translate you mentioned formidable shield and task force 50 but do you have other examples?
Admiral Mike Gilday: We just did an exercise off the coast of Portugal, a very high end NATO exercise that included integrated air and missile defense and at very advanced anti submarine warfare exercises. We couldn’t do those singularly, we do it together in a way that we’re leveraging, and a complementary fashion each others capabilities. If there are any vulnerabilities we also keep that in mind as we operate together.
Admiral Pierre Vandier: The range of interoperability is very high and we need to align our concepts, training, deployment plannings and all capabilities. It is what we do today with the British carrier group to be able to check at all these levels that we are quickly able to join ourselves here in France but tomorrow in the Pacific or in the Indian Ocean.
Admiral Tony Radakin: First and foremost our integrated review makes clear that we continue to be a strong partner within NATO but we also recognize that we need to stretch out further. What we want to do is the extraordinary cooperation that exists between all three of our navies and with the other NATO navies to extend that. The more that we can coordinate our activity and that ranges from sharing information to sharing our plans to then coordinating some of our deployments the better it is for all of us. It is we do at the moment. The three navies have been involved in an exercise called Formidable Shield 2021 about how we counter some of the most dangerous threats out there with ballistic missiles and supersonic missiles and we’re working together to combat those threats and we will work together to support our interests and values all around the globe.
The three heads of navies visited then both FS Charles de Gaulle and HMS Queen Elizabeth carriers that operated together in exercise Gaellic in Mediterranean – a first for the two carriers.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing alongside Charles de Gaulle. ©Johann Guiavarch/Marine Nationale/Défense 
A French Navy E-2C Hawkeye, four French Navy Rafale M and four British F-35B fly in formation above the two aircraft carriers. ©Johann Guiavarch/Marine Nationale/Défense
