Photos published by CECLANT, the French Navy’s Atlantic Command, show the Norfolk-based Arleigh Burke-class destroyer moored at pier in Brest naval base while a crane barge is lifting a missile canister to be loaded into the ship’s VLS.
In a message on social media X, CECLANT said: “The Brest naval base is delighted to welcome the American destroyer USS Stout for a few days. This is an opportunity to test our capabilities for various types of supply operations in support of our NATO allies.”
Contacted by Naval News, a U.S. 6th Fleet spokesperson explained: “U.S. 6th Fleet and our French Allies demonstrated ordnance rearming of USS Stout (DDG 55) in Brest, France, November 12, 2024. The goal of the operation was to demonstrate the ability to unload and reload ordnance from Allied nation warships at a port facility in France.”
This was a training evolution to rehearse vertical launching system (VLS) ordnance load and unload capability in partnership with France. Contacted by Naval News, a CECLANT spokesperson confirmed that French Navy personnel from the Brest naval base took part in the operation (which the French confirmed was an “operational training”).
While the missile canister was brought aboard USS Stout for this operation, the French Navy confirmed “the naval base is nevertheless ready to provide this type of supply, in an operational context.”
U.S. ordnance, which differs from ordnance typically used by the French Navy, could easily be supplied to Brest naval base via supply vessels or via cargo aircraft (at the nearby Brest airport or the Lanvéoc-Poulmic naval air station across the Bay from Brest).
This was the first VLS reload U.S. 6th Fleet conducted in Brest, France. U.S. 6th Fleet has conducted previous reloads at other locations across the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, most recently in October at Skagen, Denmark during Neptune Strike 24-2.
The goal of the operation was to demonstrate the ability to unload and reload ordnance from Allied nation warships at a port facility in France. U.S. 6th Fleet added “The U.S. maintains our ironclad commitment to France and NATO while expanding interoperability across the Alliance” while the French Navy commented “this activity was first and foremost a training exercise to help ensure interoperability between allies within the framework of NATO”.
French-US Strategic Interoperability Framework
Lastly, U.S. 6th Fleet confirmed that this operation was part of the Strategic Interoperability Framework enacted by the U.S. Navy and French Marine Nationale in December 2021 with the goal of enhancing high-end warfighting interoperability.
“France is America’s oldest ally, dating back to 1781 when France supported the U.S. during the Revolutionary War. In the years since, the strong bond between the two allies has matured, continuing a long-standing tradition of exceptional military partnership to ensure peace in prosperity in the region.” – U.S. 6th Fleet
The importance of “operational logistics”
As previously reported by Naval News, operational logistics is becoming an area of focus for both navies. The French Navy recently experimented and demonstrated new capabilities with its new class of logistics supply ships, such as the reloading of VLS (including while underway) and the transfer of supplies to submarines. The U.S. Navy recently held its first at-sea test of a new reloading mechanism that will allow warships to rearm while underway. These capabilities are becoming increasingly important in the global context of increased tensions, and as demonstrated in the Red Sea where ordnance can be expended quite quickly (and where most allied navies had to sail out of the Red Sea to get their ammunition reloaded).
The guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55), assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG), departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, for a regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations.
