Following several days of stalking under constant threat from US Navy's P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and Arleigh Burke class destroyers, the Saphire Commanding Officer managed to lock the massive profile of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the crosshair of his periscope. Another few hundred yards and the French Navy Rubis-class SSN will be in firing range. The crew inside the Combat Information Center holds its breath: the US Carrier Strike Group is on alert and the slightest noise would induce a lightning and lethal response.
The French Navy Saphire SSN participated in a COMPTUEX (composite training unit exercise) with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in preparation for an upcoming scheduled deployment. The French SSN was inserted in the US CSG from January 22 to February 5.
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As far as the French Navy is concerned, the means deployed by the United States offered a stimulating environment for training the Saphire crew. From a US Navy point of view, the French SSN presence was an opportunity for US sailors to improve their multinational cooperation procedures, as well as improve their tactics (both offensive and defensive) when faced with foreign submarines. The organizers of the exercise praised the quality of Saphire's work, its ability to penetrate defenses undetected and its flexibility.
French Navy Rubis class SSN Escorted and Hunted USS Theodore Roosevelt during COMPTUEX
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