S Korea Navy and UK Carrier Strike Group to conduct joint military drill, US will not participate

Seoul [South Korea], August 31 (ANI/Global Economic): South Korean Navy and the UK carrier strike group will conduct a joint maritime military training. The US military, which was scheduled to join, will not participate in the drill.

“Korean Navy and the U.K. carrier strike group will appoint each training commander and conduct search and rescue drills and maritime mobile logistics drill for humanitarian purposes,” Defense Ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said at the regular briefing on 30th.

“Other countries military troops, including the U.S., were scheduled to participate in the joint drills as the part of the aircraft carrier fleet, but they will not participate this time,” Spokesman Boo said. “There is no schedule agreed with other countries.”

The UK Embassy in Seoul also said on the same day, “The U.K. carrier strike group (CSG21) led by Queen Elizabeth will begin to exchange in various ways with the Korean Navy in Korean territorial waters from today.”

“During the joint drill, the CSG21 will work closely with the Korean Navy to test interoperability and share best practices,” the U.K. Embassy said. “Also, two parts will invite representatives from the Korean government and industries to see how the aircraft carriers work on the sea and discuss mutual interests such as cooperation between Korea and the U.K., maritime security and regional stability.”

According to the UK Embassy, the U.K. CSG21 consists of 9 warships, 32 aircraft and one submarine. More than 3,700 sailors, pilots and marines from the U.K., the U.S., and the Netherlands are on board.

Queen Elizabeth, the 5th-generation aircraft carrier ship, is the largest warship in the U.K. history with 65,000 tons capacity of full load displacement. Its propellers generate power equivalent to 50 high-speed trains.

The Queen Elizabeth will lead 6 U.K. warships, one U.K. submarine, one U.S. destroyer and a Dutch frigate. It is equipped with F-35B stealth combat aircrafts operated by the U.K. Royal Air Force, the U.K. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. (ANI/Global Economic)