A Decent Looking CSG by any measure
How about this great PHOTEX featuring the 30,000-ton F-35-equipped Italian Navy aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550), her companion strike group, and the multinational squadron of Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), sailing together during Exercise Mare Aperto (Italian for “Open Sea”) ’26 in the Western Mediterranean.
The Freedom-class littoral combat ship off Cavour’s port side is actually TCG Burgazada (F-513), a Turkish Navy Ada-class ASW corvette that’s almost a dead ringer for the LCS, but with some decent sub-busting gear.
Note the collection includes 13 escorts and three replenishment ships. At least six are FREMM-class frigates (Italian Bergamini class, French Aquitaine class), with their very distinctive tall silhouettes visible.
Cavour is carrying a mixed air wing of 11 AV-8B and F-35Bs, an AB212, and two SH-90s.
The exercise runs until 24 October in the waters around Sardinia, with the Cavour group at its core.
For those curious, SNMG2 is under the command of Greek Commodore Georgios Kypriotis on his flagship, the Elli (Kortenaer) class HS Kountouriotis (F462), with the Spanish Bazan-class frigate ESPS Blas de Lezo (F103), Italian FREMM (Bergamini)-class ITS Federico Martinengo (F596), Turkish corvette TCG Burgazada (F513), and Spanish AOE ESPS Patiño (A14).
Carrier Group escorts include the frigates ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591), along with the Spanish Bazan-class SPS Cristóbal Colón (F 105), and Santa Maria (FFG 7) class SPS Navarra (F 85).