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Carrier Strike Group 8 - 7,000 soldiers on the Ocean - US Navy - Military Strategy
Alert Red on the Atlantic: The heavily armed airplane carrier Strike 8 trained on the ocean in case of emergency. The aim of the four-week maneuver on the Atlantic Ocean is to optimize the tactical interaction of each battleship before they go into the next hot mission. The heart of the fleet is the 333 meter long aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman - guarded by several destroyers and a reconnaissance ship of the Bundeswehr, the frigate Hesse.
Alert Red on the Atlantic: The heavily armed airplane carrier Strike 8 trained on the ocean in case of emergency. The aim of the four-week maneuver on the Atlantic Ocean is to optimize the tactical interaction of each battleship before they go into the next hot mission. The heart of the fleet is the 333 meter long aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman - guarded by several destroyers and a reconnaissance ship of the Bundeswehr, the frigate Hesse.
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00:00Red Alert on the Atlantic.
00:05Carrier Strike Group 8, a heavily armed naval formation headed by an aircraft carrier,
00:12is out on the Atlantic to rehearse a real case scenario.
00:17The purpose of the four-week maneuver is to practice the tactical interplay
00:21between the warships prior to engaging in combat.
00:26Three nations are involved.
00:28Any mission, any time, anywhere, we're ready to go.
00:33The centerpiece of the group is its flagship, the carrier Harry S. Truman,
00:38a 1,093 feet long, floating small town with a military airport.
00:46With 5,600 personnel on board, the Truman can accommodate 49 jet fighters.
00:55During the exercise, its crew will handle several thousand takeoffs and landings.
01:00The physical demands are so massive that all those involved always have to push themselves to the very limit.
01:07Being out here is definitely stressful. It's a very stressful environment.
01:12A further 1,400 naval personnel are serving on the group's destroyers and frigates.
01:19Over the next few weeks, they too will be engaged in the most demanding military exercises.
01:25Fire on board has to be combated swiftly and effectively.
01:38Medical teams have to ensure that those with injuries or burns receive prompt attention.
01:44And anyone going overboard into the cold waters of the Atlantic has to be rescued with all haste.
01:53Far away from the mainland, the warships will fire thousands of rounds of ammunition and launch dozens of rockets.
02:00Attacks will be controlled tactically from the group's operation centers.
02:04Stress in a confined space in the tough daily routine of life in the Navy.
02:09This is your commander.
02:10Worn unidentified approaching aircraft in order to indicate our capacity for action and that of the force, over and out.
02:20To defend peace in the world's oceans.
02:23That is the reason why 7,000 sailors, soldiers and pilots are prepared to endure four weeks of torture on the high seas.
02:31Four weeks that will see them grow together to form a powerful carrier group.
02:36The Harry S. Truman is so huge it can be seen from afar.
02:55This nuclear-powered steel colossus has been in service since 1998
03:00and has been used for military operations in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
03:05One of the U.S. Navy's nine carrier strike groups,
03:08the Truman is the centerpiece of every operation involving Carrier Strike Group 8.
03:16The group's command center is also located on the Truman.
03:24The commander-in-chief of Carrier Strike Group 8 is Admiral Eugene Black.
03:29Carrier Strike Group 8 is a way for nations with a common purpose in the maritime world to show interest,
03:38maintain security and ensure the free flow of commerce all over the world.
03:46Carrier Strike Group 8 consists of six warships and a submarine.
03:50At the center of the formation is its flagship, the USS Harry S. Truman,
03:55an American Nimitz-class carrier with 49 combat aircraft on board.
04:01The Truman is escorted by two U.S. Navy destroyers, the Arleigh Burke and the Jason Dunham.
04:08Like bodyguards, their job is to defend the carrier against enemy attack.
04:18The USS Normandy, an American-guided missile cruiser, functions as a floating missile screen
04:23and protects the group from airstrikes.
04:34The German frigate, Hessen, is the eyes and the ears of the strike group.
04:38It specializes in aerial reconnaissance with a radius of 250 miles.
04:42The Roald Amundsen is a frigate that is part of the Norwegian Navy.
04:54The smallest vessel in the group, its task is to combat enemy submarines and warships.
05:05The carrier is also escorted by a Los Angeles-class attack submarine.
05:09Its job is to protect the group by hunting down and destroying enemy submarines.
05:28The carrier group, with its 7,000 personnel, has embarked on a four-week exercise
05:33with a three-day final battle scenario.
05:39What we're doing out here is about a month-long exercise.
05:43It's very intense and it's called Comp 2X.
05:46Of course, the U.S. military has to make a funny word out of everything,
05:51but what it really means is it's your graduation exam to go on deployment.
05:56So these ships and aircraft and these sailors have been working together for just over a year
06:02to come together and deploy.
06:06And this month-long exercise is our final exam.
06:10The composite training unit exercise, Comp 2X for short,
06:15takes place six to eight weeks prior to actual operations.
06:18It encompasses six areas of marine warfare.
06:20It's a test which all the units have to pass.
06:29All the warships involved first have to congregate at a naval base in Virginia,
06:34on the east coast of the United States.
06:36Naval Station Norfolk is the biggest naval base in the world.
06:40It is from here that the U.S. Navy coordinates all its military activities in the Atlantic.
06:45Norfolk is also home port of 75 American warships, including four aircraft carriers.
06:56Every exercise, every deployment begins at one of the 14 berths.
07:06A week before the Computex maneuver, there is a hushed air of expectation at the base.
07:11The slumbering warships are in their starting blocks.
07:16Over the next few days, the crews will go aboard,
07:19and ammunition and supplies will disappear in the warships' heavily armed hulls.
07:24First and foremost, inside the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier,
07:28the USS Harry S. Truman.
07:34This class of warship is equipped with two nuclear reactors,
07:37which can accelerate the 95,000-ton giant to a speed of 30 knots.
07:461,093 feet long and 253 feet wide,
07:50the Truman is one of the biggest vessels of its kind.
07:57A draft of 39 feet means that one-third of the ship is below the surface.
08:01To ensure that the Truman passes the four-week acid test for several days,
08:10forklift trucks provide provisions, medical supplies and technical equipment
08:14through the hangar gate and into the hull of the ocean giant.
08:18The volume of supplies stored here is equivalent to the daily requirements of a small town.
08:23On a daily basis, we're talking about 280 kilograms of hamburger meat,
08:31over 2,000 eggs, 800 loaves and 350 kilograms of vegetables, along with half a ton of fruit.
08:41The Truman can store supplies for up to 90 days.
08:44And to ensure nothing is damaged in rough seas, all supplies are secured with steel chains.
08:55We are a floating city at sea.
08:58We serve as an airport.
08:59We make our own water, our propulsion.
09:01We have nine restaurants, serve over 15,000 meals a day.
09:05Besides being a gigantic pantry, the Truman is also a huge arsenal.
09:10Just before she sets sail, hundreds of missiles, shells and bombs are stored on board.
09:17The blue-colored projectiles are practice ammunition.
09:25But these bombs, which weigh nearly a ton, are also part of the carrier's arsenal.
09:31The weapons officers keep an exact account of every bullet that goes on board.
09:36After days of tough loading work on the jetty, the Truman is now ready for action.
09:45Berthed a few meters away is the frigate Hessen.
09:49Currently the German Navy's most modern system, her task within the Truman Group
09:54is aerial surveillance and air defense.
09:57The officers and men of the Hessen have a worldwide reputation as reconnaissance specialists.
10:02The carrier group's air defense frigate, the Hessen, is 469 feet long and 59 feet wide, and has a complement of 255.
10:16With a draft of only 20 feet, she can also operate effectively in coastal waters.
10:21The frigate Hessen is the newcomer in carrier strike group 8.
10:28Our two nations are operating very well together, and I've been teaching the German officers a little bit about American football,
10:36and they've been teaching me a little bit about the Bundesliga and German football.
10:40So we're working very well together, and I look forward to working tactically with the German Navy in the future.
10:48Before the Hessen can put to sea, she too has to be loaded up with a month's provisions.
10:56And that is a tough job.
10:58The frigate doesn't have any loading hatches, so every container has to be transferred 460 feet into the storage area by hand via three decks.
11:15The task alone takes a whole day.
11:17We have 1800 kilograms of fruit and vegetables on board, along with 11,000 bottles of water and some 1.2 tons of meat and fish, most of it deep frozen.
11:34The limit for staying at sea is about 21 days, simply because we also like meals to contain a lot of fresh produce, like salad and fresh vegetables.
11:43And they don't really keep longer than three weeks.
11:45In Norfolk, the big moment is approaching.
11:55Most of the crews in the strike group have boarded their warships.
11:59The most important figure in the carrier group, Admiral Gene Black, has also arrived on the quayside.
12:15The remaining crew members say goodbye to their families.
12:19They won't see them again for half a year.
12:22For most of the personnel, the exercise will be followed by an actual tour of duty, set at six months.
12:28I'm so pleased and proud of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Team, 6,500 of the finest Americans you could ever sail with or serve with.
12:42We're trained. We're ready. Any mission, anytime, anywhere, we're ready to go.
12:49The last ties with the mainland are detached as the USS Harry S. Truman prepares to leave.
12:55The thick mooring ropes are hauled in by hand.
13:00The massive anchor chains are more of a problem.
13:051,083 feet long and weighing several tons, they can only be hoisted with a huge winch.
13:15Four special tugs have arrived.
13:18Its mooring is too tight for the carrier to maneuver on its own.
13:21So the tugs have come to shepherd the slow-moving giant meter by meter into the Norfolk navigation channel.
13:28Then, under its own steam, the Truman makes its way through the world's biggest naval base and out into the open sea.
13:46As yet, there's no aircraft activity on its flight deck.
13:50That's because there's a strict ban on takeoffs and landings in the port area.
13:54The command, Cast Off, has also been given on board the next warship.
14:06The maneuverable guided missile destroyer Arleigh Burke, with its complement of 300, also heads out of the port complex.
14:15The Normandy is the next to leave.
14:18This guided missile cruiser has been in service with the U.S. Navy since 1989.
14:22It has a complement of 390.
14:26The Los Angeles-class submarine is also moving off.
14:30For tactical reasons, this attack submarine will remain underwater and out of sight throughout the entire maneuver.
14:39The Norwegian frigate Roald Amundsen has now also left its berth.
14:44Its crew of 120 is the smallest complement in the strike group.
14:48The second international partner, the German frigate Hessen, is the last of the warships to set sail.
14:55All the vessels in the carrier strike group 8 have now left the safety of the Norfolk naval base.
15:02The Comp 2X maneuver has started.
15:10A sailor on the bridge of the German frigate has spotted two speedboats on the horizon.
15:15They're attacking the Hessen.
15:17The warship has only just left port, but its crew are already given a foretaste of what to expect over the next few weeks.
15:24Both boats are accelerating.
15:27Speedboat defense.
15:29The versatile speedboats seem innocuous, but they could have dangerous weapons on board, like rocket-propelled grenades and limpet mines.
15:37On no account must they be allowed to get through to the strike group.
15:42Turn away immediately, or I will be forced to take action against you. Over.
15:48Meldung.
15:50Warning 3.
15:51The Hessens gunners now have the boats in their sights.
16:01The aggressive tapping stimulates the salvos from the light naval gun on the deck.
16:08The threat has been eliminated, and the exercise completed successfully.
16:11In an actual attack, the commander and his crew would have to go through the sequence of actions as if they were second nature.
16:28Otherwise, it could quickly be too late for the frigate and the carrier.
16:33Out on the Atlantic, the Harry S. Truman is on course for its exercise area.
16:42With a top speed of 32 knots, the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are among the world's fastest warships.
16:50Its 276,000 horsepower engines are now propelling the carrier at full speed through tight curves taken at an angle of 15 degrees.
17:02The two nuclear reactors driving the ship's four giant propellers are working at maximum output.
17:08This particular maneuver constitutes a massive stress test for the rigid Colossus.
17:15Engineers on board the carrier carry out regular checks for any cracks or deformations.
17:21We anticipate that the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier will stay operational for a service life of 50 years.
17:26Truman is coming up on about halfway through its service life, but we will continue in the normal rotation of training, deployments, returning for maintenance, refit, retraining, and continue on.
17:41So a very bright future for Harry S. Truman and the Harry S. Truman Strike Group as we continue to operate for the missions that we were designed for.
17:48First though, some hard work lies ahead for the Truman's crew.
17:54They're awaiting the arrival of 49 combat jets, the steel giant's main weapon.
17:59Without its fighter squadron, the carrier would be virtually defenseless.
18:03The Boeing F-18 Super Hornet is the fighter aircraft of the U.S. Navy, and at the same time the backbone of the Truman's carrier air wing.
18:16After taking off from several military bases on the mainland, the fighter pilots have flown up to 3,100 miles.
18:22Since that is more than double the range of a Super Hornet, the fighters have had to be refueled in midair.
18:38The airspace above the Truman is slowly filling up.
18:42It's an extremely tense time for all those involved.
18:45The carrier is sailing into the wind to make landing easier for the pilots.
18:50Its runway would never be long enough for the aircraft to come to a normal standstill, so technical aids are essential.
19:02Just 820 feet in length, the runway on the Truman is extremely short, so four safety or arresting wires are tensioned right across the flight deck.
19:13They can bring a jet to a standstill in just two seconds.
19:16Attached to each aircraft is a tail hook, which snags one of the steel cables on landing.
19:25Hitting a two-inch thick steel cable with a 15-ton jet while landing at 155 miles per hour on a floating runway that is far too short is always an ordeal for the pilot.
19:36It involves precision work in all weathers, and the teams on deck too.
19:43That's why there are clear dress regulations on the Truman's flight deck.
19:47To indicate their various responsibilities, the teams wear different colored shirts.
19:52Each color represents a specific task area.
19:55The yellow shirts, for instance, allocate the pilot a parking position.
20:07To make it more maneuverable on deck, the F-18 was designed with folding wings.
20:13This feature greatly reduces the normal wingspan of 39 feet.
20:22The next Super Hornet is now ready to land.
20:25The pilot has extended the five feet long tail hook.
20:30His wingman checks to see that it has been fully extended.
20:33The jet fighter then approaches the runway.
20:45The sailors in green also belong to the 400 personnel on the flight deck, known as hook runners.
20:52They make sure the safety wires are tensioned after every landing.
20:55The wires are positioned 39 feet apart to ensure that every jet is arrested.
21:05The pilot is now coming in to land.
21:08He's assisted by the men in white.
21:11The landing signal officers, or LSOs, are themselves pilots
21:16and are in permanent radio contact with their colleague in the cockpit.
21:19They guide him on to the optimum approach for snagging one of the arresting wires.
21:31One after another, the jets land at one minute intervals.
21:35This is a real acid test for the arresting system on board the Truman.
21:39Its wires are connected directly to a huge hydraulic cylinder.
21:43The braking system braces itself against the force from the jet
21:46and brings the aircraft to a standstill.
21:58Landing on an aircraft carrier is literally a balancing act.
22:03Ideally, a pilot will snag the second safety wire.
22:07Even for particularly experienced pilots,
22:10the pinpoint navigating requires enormous concentration.
22:16This Super Hornet is flying too high.
22:19But its tail hook just manages to snag the last wire.
22:23Here, just a few inches make the difference between coming to an abrupt stop
22:28and having to give full throttle.
22:30When a pilot misses all the arresting wires, the situation is critical.
22:35The runway then becomes a take-off ramp.
22:38The pilot has to perform a go-around, known in the Navy as a bolter.
22:41This happens in five to ten percent of all landings.
22:52For safety reasons, a tanker aircraft is already waiting.
22:56Because after the botched attempt at landing,
22:59the jet's fuel gauge needle is in the red zone.
23:01But now, three thousand liters a minute are flowing into the F-18's fuel tanks.
23:07The pilot is ready to make a second attempt.
23:10This time, the landing is successful.
23:15After the Super Hornets have landed, the remaining members of the carrier air wing come in and are parked.
23:31The 21,500 square yards of the Truman's flight deck are now jam-packed.
23:36Every Nimitz-class carrier can take up to 85 aircraft.
23:42But the number is slightly less for the requirements of the Comp2X exercise.
23:51We have 44 strike fighter aircraft F-18 Super Hornets.
23:55This air wing is unique in that our air wing is comprised solely of F-18 Super Hornets
23:59with advanced radars and advanced capabilities.
24:03Along with that, we have two helicopter squadrons that perform different functions.
24:07We have five E-18G Growlers, those advanced electronic attack aircraft.
24:11And we also have the five E-2Ds.
24:13The Truman cost around four and a half billion dollars.
24:25And each day this floating airfield is in operation costs a further two and a half million dollars.
24:35The aircraft carrier is protected by six steel bodyguards.
24:39Depending on the scenario, to realize their full effectiveness, the destroyers and frigates are moved around like figures on a chessboard.
24:48The group is limited only by the dimensions of the Atlantic training area.
24:57The virtual war zone is projected onto the ocean like a slide.
25:02The artificial operations map resembles the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
25:06The fictional Comp 2X area of operation is subdivided into several sections or boxes.
25:13In these boxes, the ships have to comply with certain rules.
25:17Think of the boxes like this.
25:22Last night we came here from the north.
25:25We relocated south into the more northerly of the two boxes, each of which is roughly 37 to 50 miles an area.
25:31We are now moving further south to enable our helicopter to take off.
25:36This box is roughly the same size but of a slightly different shape.
25:40It is already off limits for other exercises.
25:43This is where the ships that are involved in other operations will fire afterwards.
25:47And down here, our helicopter will be able to take off safely.
25:50We have now got half an hour left to get there.
25:54We are travelling straight there at top speed to rendezvous with the Norwegians who will accept our helicopter as soon as it has taken off.
26:00To prevent the group presenting an easy target, after passing through canals or straits for example, the ships will separate immediately and operate in an extended formation, often dozens of miles apart.
26:18The group's helicopters go into action whenever technical staff, medical supplies, munitions or provisions have to be exchanged between vessels.
26:30Here a German helicopter is transporting two technicians from the Truman to a destroyer, which is having problems with its air conditioning system.
26:37The guided missile destroyer Arleigh Burke is something very special and has thus lent its name to an entire vessel class, which currently consists of more than 65 structurally identical destroyers.
27:02They were the first naval vessels to be built with stealth technology.
27:16Arleigh Burke class destroyers are 509 feet long, have a width of 66 feet and a draft of some 33 feet.
27:26This makes them extremely stable even in heavy seas.
27:29Their 99,000 horsepower engines give the destroyers a top speed of 30 knots.
27:36The Arleigh Burke's each have 300 personnel on board.
27:40Arleigh Burke destroyers are equipped with a complex, electronically controlled combat system, which makes them ideal for protecting carriers like the Truman from aerial and submarine attack.
27:51Headed by Commander Jason T. Step, the team on the bridge is rotated to ensure that the warship is ready to defend the carrier at all times during the exercise.
28:02It's an amazing capability that we have on this ship with the latest combat systems upgrade in the United States Navy.
28:09And we bring a lot of capability to that strike group and ultimately to the combatant commander when deployed.
28:16To present as low a radar cross section as possible, all the outer surfaces and deck superstructures were designed in line with stealth principles.
28:27Arleigh Burke is a multi-mission capable destroyer, so we're capable of conducting anti-submarine warfare, anti-service warfare, air and missile defense, both of ourselves and of a strike group, so point and area defense.
28:44We're also very capable in ballistic missile defense.
28:46According to the maneuver map, the Arleigh Burke is moving in enemy waters.
28:53In reality, things would now be really tight for the destroyer.
28:57Several islands are making it hard for the warship to maneuver.
29:01The destroyer would thus be an easy target for land-based forces, but steps have already been taken to combat this.
29:08A unique capability for us, based on our upgraded electronic system, is that we can control steering from multiple locations throughout the ship so that we have redundancy in the event that there is a loss of steering.
29:23The warship is designed like a gigantic labyrinth.
29:27Countless bulkheads protect it from serious damage and make it hard for any enemy to advance through to the bridge.
29:33The crew can only get straight from the stem to the stern via the Zulu deck deep in the bowels of the ship.
29:41This is also where the system rooms and the offices are located, along with the mess where meals are served.
29:48So, four times a day, there is something of a crush here.
29:54Arleigh Burke is home to about 300 sailors, and four times a day, we produce 300 or so meals for the crew.
30:02So, you think about, you know, the ship's galleys putting out, you know, a restaurant-sized 1200 meals a day for the crew on board.
30:10So, a pretty monumental feat, and a lot of credit goes to the culinary folks on board that, you know, work to get that together and make sure the crew is very well fed and taken care of.
30:23The destroyer's turbines are just as hungry as its crew.
30:25On average, they consume 100 tons of diesel oil a day.
30:35Since the Second World War, more Arleigh Burke destroyers have been built for the U.S. Navy than virtually any other class of warship.
30:43Their combat systems make them extremely effective, especially in difficult defense scenarios.
30:48The Arleigh Burke is a fighting machine.
30:56It has eight harpoon missile systems for combating enemy warships.
31:01Six torpedo tubes for attacking submarines.
31:05And a 127-millimeter cannon that can sink speedboats in seconds.
31:14And any attackers still managing to penetrate through to the warship can expect to be met with a heavy barrage from the CWIS phalanx.
31:23But the main weapon on board the Arleigh Burke is its guided missile system.
31:29With rockets fired from 90 launch cells, the destroyer can combat attacks from air, land and sea.
31:35Its vertical launch system enables the destroyer to attack bunker installations as much as 600 miles away.
31:55Missiles fired by this high-tech warship can also combat supersonic fighter aircraft and near-Earth satellites with great accuracy.
32:15The Phalanx CWIS is an automatic rapid-fire system.
32:18Firing 50 rounds a second, six rotating barrels literally pulverize any airborne object attacking the ship.
32:31Naval engineers are constantly working on improving the Arleigh Burke's defense systems.
32:37These include a computerized missile defense system known as RAM, short for Rolling Airframe Missile.
32:48The Super Airbox system launches chaff, or infrared decoys, to foil anti-ship missiles.
32:58The destroyer's Bushmaster M242 autocannon and its 127-millimeter lightweight gun are used against targets close to the shore.
33:09The Arleigh Burke's defense systems are complemented by a complex electronic tracking system.
33:20Its core element is the Aegis Combat System, a combination of radar, sonar and sensor technology that can track and guide weapons to destroy targets in the air and at sea.
33:31A high-performance sonar system in the Arleigh Burke's bulbous bow detects all movements underwater.
33:43It can also register objects on the surface up to 124 miles away.
33:48In order to determine the precise nature of an object, the signals from it are compared with the information stored in a huge echo data bank.
33:56The warship also has a 360-degree radar system that can even detect objects no bigger than a golf ball 112 miles away.
34:10The two radar units at the stern transmit a signal which guides missiles fired by the ship precisely to their target.
34:17In addition, numerous antennas ensure pinpoint navigation of the vessel itself.
34:26Within the carrier group, the Arleigh Burke is clearly designed as what is known as a multi-mission platform.
34:32In defending the Truman, it can assume several roles.
34:35And then part of the Comp 2X that we're in right now, operating with the aircraft carrier and our joint partners, is proving that capability in a joint cooperative environment.
34:47This particular morning, the fighter aircraft onboard the USS Harry S. Truman are being positioned on its flight deck.
35:09Because Admiral Eugene Black has a complex air surveillance exercise planned for today.
35:14The carrier's human-machine clockwork is starting to tick.
35:24First of all, the Hawkeyes take off, to be followed by the F-18 fighter jets.
35:30The aim is to fill the airspace above the carrier strike group and then monitor it in coordination with all the units in the group.
35:38For the deck crews, this is pressure time.
35:55The yellow shirts guide each jet to its takeoff position.
35:58The green shirts operate the catapult, which hurls the Super Hornets into the sky.
36:11With the help of the catapult, the F-18 reaches a speed of 124 miles per hour in just over one second.
36:18The jets take off into the Atlantic sky at a rate of one a minute.
36:24All the cog wheels of the Truman clockwork have intermeshed to perfection.
36:29The first phase of the maneuver has now been completed.
36:34This warship ensures that the jets are able to operate safely over the Atlantic.
36:45The Hessen is a Saxon-class frigate with the German Navy.
36:49This type of warship has been designed in such a way that it can defend itself independently in a naval conflict.
36:56The Hessen is the hawk among the group's warships.
36:59Its numerous high-tech radar systems make the Hessen a specialist in air reconnaissance.
37:18The Hessen is Germany's most powerful and most expensive weapon system.
37:21What makes it so expensive is its sense of technology, the radar systems we have on board.
37:27When we leave Wilhelmshaven, we can monitor the airspace over Frankfurt and London simultaneously.
37:33This gives us a good picture of the situation, which we can then make available to NATO, but also to the aircraft carrier.
37:42The Smart L at the stern is a rotating radar system.
37:45It enables the Hessen to establish a giant monitoring dome over the entire carrier group.
37:52Around 1,000 targets within a radius of 249 miles can be detected and tracked simultaneously.
38:02Located in the frigate's tower is the APAR missile guidance system.
38:07Its sensor arrays can track 250 different air targets at a distance of 93 miles.
38:12At the same time, the system can transmit the coordinates directly to the weapons systems for precise targeting.
38:20Underwater detection is no problem for the Hessen either.
38:25The high-performance sensor in the bulbous bow monitors all activity in the ocean in a radius of up to 27 miles.
38:32The frigate's two helicopters extend its detection capability.
38:40Equipped with dipping sonars, they can monitor the ocean many miles beyond the Hessen's radius of activity.
38:46All data flow into the operations center, giving Commander Pfennig and his 255-person crew an up-to-the-minute and extremely precise overview of the entire situation in the air and on and below the surface.
39:07The Hessen is a group air defense frigate specializing in anti-air warfare.
39:15The vessel's defense capabilities are multidimensional.
39:19It can combat targets in the air, on the surface and underwater.
39:23Located deep in the bowels of the ship is the operations center.
39:32Here Pfennig and his team are totally self-sufficient.
39:36Decoupled, well-sprung and protected by extremely thick armor plating, the center can even withstand the shocks from missiles hitting the ship.
39:45The operations center also has its own separate supply of power and oxygen.
39:53It would continue to function even if the Hessen were in flames.
40:00The operations center is the ship's brain, so to speak.
40:04All data interchanged within the carrier group is gathered here.
40:08Think in terms of a high-seize computer network.
40:11The Hessian can not only see and hear extremely well, it can also hit hard.
40:22The frigate has six different weapons systems for defense.
40:30With a range of five miles, the 76-millimeter cannon on the bow can fire 100 rounds a minute.
40:37Two ram launchers protect the Hessian against aerial attack.
40:45Eight harpoon missile systems can attack enemy warships.
40:52And two triple launchers provide torpedo defense against submarines.
40:59The 32 cells of the vertical launch system make the frigate a dangerous destroyer.
41:03The crew also have access to various firearms for close-range defense.
41:13A high-tech frigate, the Hessen is the German Navy's pride and joy.
41:17Since 2010, ships of the Saxon class are regularly part of the fighting force around the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman.
41:25In operation only a few miles further north is the KNM Roald Amundsen, a frigate belonging to the Royal Norwegian Navy.
41:39She's the strike group submarine hunter.
41:42The ship's networked, multi-function combat system enables it to simultaneously detect, pursue and combat underwater attackers.
41:55440 feet long and 56 feet wide, this sub-hunter has two powerful diesel engines and a gas turbine which generate 39,450 horsepower.
42:06With a 16 feet draft and a top speed of 27 knots, the Amundsen is extremely fast and maneuverable.
42:15The smallest warship in the strike group, the Amundsen, is an integral part of Norway's powerful high-tech fleet.
42:21Belonging to the Fridjof Nansen class, it specializes in hunting submarines in the fjords of the far north and in the Atlantic.
42:31Because of the Amundsen's sporty shape, the Norwegians also fondly refer to it as the yacht.
42:38During the four-week Camp 2x maneuver, the Roald Amundsen will protect the group's flanks.
42:43In the event of a surface attack, the ship's remote-controlled Browning machine guns are brought into action.
42:56So it has to be totally ready in an emergency.
43:09Like the crews of all the warships in the carrier strike group, during the exercise the Norwegians practice firing projectile weapons.
43:21On board the frigate during the exercise are 120 men and women.
43:26They constitute the smallest crew within the carrier strike group.
43:31With more and more technology functioning automatically, fewer hands are needed.
43:39The advantage for the crew is less stress and more space on board.
43:54Depending on its mission, the Amundsen also has 30 members of Norway's special forces on board.
43:59The frigate's speedboats transport the troops at top speed to their operational areas on the coast.
44:06The Norwegian warship also has two helicopters on board.
44:09This cruiser is another member of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Group.
44:17The USS Normandy is a floating missile base.
44:21Its vertical launch system, VLS for short, is one of the world's fastest missile launch systems.
44:32Five different types of missile can be fired from the Normandy.
44:35Five hundred sixty-eight feet long and almost fifty-six feet wide, the Normandy is a guided missile cruiser with a draft of just over thirty-three feet.
44:49The twin propellers are driven by a 78,906 horsepower engine that gives the warship a top speed of thirty knots.
45:07The carrier strike group is now in the middle of its four-week war maneuver.
45:23Each of the units is operating in its particular task area.
45:26The group's seven thousand sailors and air crews are waiting for their next test, which could come at any moment.
45:35In the days ahead, they will face some tough challenges.
45:39This is our final exam.
45:44We'll be certified.
45:46And once that certification, that graduation is complete, we're able to go on deployment whenever directed by the president.
45:56So far, things are going well.
45:59I think we're going to pass and we've got a few more weeks to go.
46:02Those weeks will prove a really tough test, especially for the Truman's deck crews.
46:11The exercise schedule will involve hundreds of takeoffs and landings by fighter aircraft over a short period of time.
46:18The F-18 jets are in the air day and night and have to assume constantly changing roles in the maneuvers.
46:37Sometimes they're a friend and at others, the foe.
46:40In this way, a genuine combat situation is created, which the entire carrier group has to handle together.
46:48This air defense exercise, ADEX for short, is the most important element in the entire multinational maneuver.
46:56Surface defense is also part of the program.
47:00The group is attacked time and time again from all sides.
47:04The sailors have to detect, pursue and combat enemy speedboats and warships with total precision.
47:21In Gun-X, a gunnery exercise involving shooting at targets on the surface,
47:27the group's high-tech weapons are fired till they're hot.
47:34During the course of Comp 2X, the stress levels of the crew are constantly rising.
47:44The call, man overboard, goes out time and again.
47:48Dinghees are launched and rescue teams enter the water.
47:52On the high seas, every second counts in saving human life.
47:57At the same time, there's fire and injured sailors on board.
48:00The crews rescue the wounded and fight the flames under realistic conditions.
48:10For everyone involved, the program means tough weeks on the high seas.
48:17From here on, the seven vessels and their complement of 7,000 men and women
48:22will give everything to ensure that the U.S. Navy's Comp 2X maneuver is a success.
48:29Because only then will they be able to prevail in actual warfare.
48:35And that is the goal of Carrier Strike Group 8.
48:38?
48:39Ahome Strike Group 8.
48:48Jurassic Park
48:51When you first Double-X Eyed
48:53Noluence
48:57Are you then?
48:58Hey, for free.
48:59You willائse
49:00consume your wings
49:04Who?
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