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May 14, 2010

By Lauren King
The Virginian-Pilot
© May 13, 2010

NORFOLK

The British aircraft carrier Ark Royal will arrive Friday, joining six other Royal Navy ships and a French submarine for a joint maritime operation exercise with the U.S. Navy.

Ark Royal’s 800 sailors will join the British frigate Sutherland, destroyer Liverpool, fleet replenishment ship Fort George, landing ship dock Largs Bay and assault ships Albion and Ocean, according to a Navy news release. The French submarine Perle will also join the exercise with the U.S. guided missile destroyer Barry and amphibious assault ship Kearsage. There are about 2,000 sailors participating in the exercise.

The British deployment, called AURIGA, is a major 2010 deployment to exercise on the eastern seaboard of North America and in the western Atlantic, the news release said. The group deployed from the United Kingdom in April.

All of the AURIGA multinational Naval Task Group, except the Ark Royal, arrived in Norfolk no May 11. The sailors will spend the weekend sightseeing, shopping and attending sporting events in Hampton Roads before the exercise begins.

The multinational exercise will take place off the U.S. and Canadian coasts. The exercises include training in traditional war-fighting areas of carrier strike, amphibious assault and anti-submarine warfare operations. Some of the task group will also participate in the international fleet review in Halifax, celebrating the centennial of the Canadian Navy.