Aircraft carrier combat group
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An aircraft carrier strike group is a multifunctional naval unit composed of an aircraft carrier and its escort ships.
Purpose and necessity
Carrier combat groups have a wide range of uses. This includes securing civil or military shipping against enemy attacks at sea or in the air as well as carrying out or securing amphibious or other military operations. The show of force in the form of the stationing of such a combat group on an enemy coast serves as a means of pressure in the region concerned. Furthermore, they also serve as a base of operations for the monitoring of no-fly zones , war with combat aircraft and cruise missiles as well as the embargo surveillance and reconnaissance . An example of this would be the stationing of aircraft carrier groups in the Persian Gulf as part of the Gulf Wars , to monitor the sea area, embargo and no-fly zone and the attacks on Iraq.
The amalgamation of several types of ships to form a combat group evolved from the need to protect the aircraft carriers, which are strategically extremely important, but essentially unarmed, on the high seas from enemy attacks or attempts to push away. For warplanes and submarines , they are also an easy target because of their size. Therefore, aircraft carriers are always used in a combat group that serves both for protection and for supply. This principle can be found in the majority of the navies that had or have carriers in use.
Aircraft carrier combat groups from different countries
In addition to the USA, the navies of Russia , France , China , India , Spain , Italy and Brazil also have their own aircraft carrier combat groups, which, like the American aircraft carriers, are accompanied by an association of ships. While the other navies each have a carrier combat group, the Indian navy traditionally leads two combat groups. These are stationed in the western and eastern Indian Oceans and have participated in blockades of Pakistan in the past, as in the Bangladesh war . Italy, on the other hand, has an amphibious group in addition to the carrier combat group.
A Carrier Strike Group ( CSG ) refers to a battle group to an aircraft carrier of the US Navy .
composition
The US Navy's CSG usually consist of the following types of ships:
- a Nimitz- class aircraft carrier with a Carrier Air Wing ,
- two guided missile cruisers of the Ticonderoga class, which, equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, are used for long-range and other attacks,
- two to three missile destroyers of the Arleigh Burke- class , which are mainly responsible for the aircraft and anti-submarine,
- two Los Angeles , Seawolf or Virginia class hunting submarines for fighting enemy submarines and surface ships, and
- a logistic supply ship to supply the entire group with ammunition , food and fuel .
Allocation of the CSG to the aircraft carriers
In August 2018 the following assignments were valid:
- CSG 2 - CVN-77 George HW Bush
- CSG 8 - CVN 75 Harry S. Truman
- CSG 10 - CVN-69 Dwight D. Eisenhower
- CSG 12 - CVN-72 Abraham Lincoln
- CSG 1 - CVN-70 USS Carl Vinson
- CSG 3 - CVN 74 John C. Stennis
- CSG 5 - CVN 76 Ronald Reagan
- CSG 9 - CVN-71 Theodor Roosevelt
- CSG 11 - CVN-68 Nimitz
The Amphibious Ready Group, or ARG, is a U.S. Navy combat group capable of amphibious landings. It owns an amphibious assault ship of the Wasp - or America-class amphibious assault ship and a dock landing either the Whidbey Iceland - or the Harpers Ferry class and an amphibious transport dock of Austin - or San Antonio class . These transport a Marine Expeditionary Unit including material.
Between 2003 and 2009, amphibious groups also relocated as an integrated association with multiple escorts as the Expeditionary Strike Group .
Russia
With the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia has an aircraft carrier with conventional combat aircraft.
The Kuznetsov escort group usually consists of:
- a Slava-class missile cruiser
- two Sowremenny-class missile destroyers
- two Udaloy-class anti- submarine ships
- two nuclear-powered Akula-class submarines
- an Oscar II class nuclear-powered missile sub-cruiser
Sometimes the Kuznetsov is accompanied by the battle cruiser Pyotr Veliki .
France
France's only aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is nuclear powered and equipped with conventional combat aircraft. The escort group of Charles de Gaulle usually consists of:
- 2 anti-submarine ships of the Georges Leygues class
- 2 frigates of the Cassard class or the Horizon class for air defense.
- 1 stealth ship of the La Fayette class away from the formation for patrol .
- 1 nuclear-powered Rubis-class hunting submarine
- 1 supply ship
In 2015 and 2016, the Charles de Gaulle was in the multinational Counter Daesh operation and was accompanied by ships from friendly nations, including Great Britain, Belgium and Germany. The participation of French ships in the carrier battle group was therefore correspondingly lower.
India
India has had carrier combat groups since 1961, usually two combat groups in the Indian Ocean . Due to the constantly precarious political situation between India and Pakistan , the western association is usually the more powerful militarily. He is subordinate to the Western Naval Command based in Mumbai . The Eastern Association is subordinate to the Eastern Naval Command based in Visakhapatnam . The Vikramaditya , which uses conventional aircraft, is currently used in the "Western Fleet". The Viraat , which STOVL aircraft uses, is the flagship of the "Eastern Fleet". 2018 [date] the Viraat will be decommissioned and the Vikrant be replaced. The Vikramaditya will again be in service until 2025 and then be replaced by the INS Vishal .
The escort ships of the Vikramaditya combat group should consist of a mixture of frigates of the Shivalik class equipped with stealth technology , frigates of the Talwar class , and the nuclear-powered hunting submarine INS Chakra .
The escort ships of the INS Viraat usually consist of:
- 2 Delhi-class destroyers
- 2 Talwar class frigates
- 1 supply ship
China
With the Liaoning, China has had an aircraft carrier with conventional warplanes since 2012 . The Liaoning escort group usually consists of:
- 4 Type 052C destroyers
- 2 Type 054A frigates
- 1-2 nuclear-powered submarines of the Shang-class or the Han-class .
Italy
In 2009, the Italian Navy put into service the Cavour, an aircraft carrier that can use STOVL aircraft. Its battle group would be made up of frigates FREMM - and the Horizon-class frigate , and AIP of submarines Type 212 submarine composed.
The aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi can use STOVL aircraft, but has only been used as a helicopter carrier as part of an amphibious combat group since 2012. This combat group usually consists of the following ships:
- 2 De la Penne class destroyers
- 2-3 landing ships of the San Giorgio class
- Marines of the Brigade Brigata marina “San Marco”
- 1 Etna-class supply ship
Spain
Spain's flagship Juan Carlos I can also be used as an aircraft carrier. Then she is accompanied by frigates of the Álvaro de Bazán class and the Santa María class equipped with the Aegis combat system . The new AIP submarines of the Isaac Peral class are to provide underwater protection .
Brazil
Brazil had the NAeL Minas Gerais from 1960 to 2001 , the NAe São Paulo from 2001 to 2018 and the PHeM Atlantico since 2018 .
United Kingdom
The UK does not currently have an aircraft carrier combat group. Since the last unit of the Invincible class was decommissioned in 2014, the roles as the center of a combat group have been temporarily taken over by the two ships HMS Ocean and RFA Argus until the two aircraft carriers of the Queen Elizabeth class are commissioned .
See also
literature
- Tom Kaminski: US Navy - Carrier and Shipboard Aviation , International Air Power Review, Vol. 26
Web links
- The Carrier Strike Group on navy.mil (engl.)
- The Amphibious Ready Group on navy.mil (engl.)
- The Expeditionary Strike Group on navy.mil (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ^ Bundeswehr: German frigate protects US aircraft carriers - Bundeswehr. Retrieved February 5, 2019 .