US, France end military drills in Persian Gulf

The US Navy has announced that the United States and France wrapped up combined carrier strike group operations in the Middle East on Sunday after five weeks.

The exercises began in late December in the Gulf of Oman, in the Northern Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf, Stars and Stripes reported.

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and French Navy Task Force 473 were present in the operations.

American and French ships conducted joint fight operations, boarding exercises, live-fire gunnery exercises, air defense exercises and combat search and rescue training.

According to a US Navy press release, US F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets conducted operations from the Charles de Gaulle, and French aircraft landed and launched from the Truman.

Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney, commander of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, told Stars and Stripes having the French come out to operate with the US Navy took about a year of planning.

“Quite frankly, I think this is the first time this has ever happened — period — that we’ve done this level of cooperation and inter-operations before,” Sweeney said.

“We are always trying to build trust and confidence in this area of the world that we are here for the long haul, and that we are committed to the safety and stability within this region,” Sweeney added.