Supported with firepower from surface ships and its carrier air wing, the Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is fully equipped to ensure security and respond to contingencies.

The Truman CSG in September deployed to the US Naval Forces-Africa/US Sixth Fleet area of operations as part of a regularly scheduled deployment.

The CSG includes the Nimitz-class USS Truman, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stout.

US Navy CSGs are typically accompanied by one or two Virginia-class fast attack submarines.

As of November 18, the strike group was transiting to the Mediterranean after completing operations with allies and partners in the Norwegian Sea, according to USNI News.

Air superiority

Embedded aboard the USS Truman is Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1), which is composed of eight squadrons and one detachment.

Its four strike fighter squadrons come with at least 36 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters in total for both air-to-surface and air-to-air strike missions.

The Super Hornet is the US Navy's supersonic, twin-engine multi-role fighter that can reach heights of 15,240 meters at a top speed of Mach 1.6 (1,975 km/h).

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet performs traditional missions of fighter escort, fleet air defense, interdiction and close air support, while retaining excellent fighter and self-defense capabilities.

It can carry a variety of missiles including the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), Harpoon anti-ship missile, AGM-88 HARM air-to-surface missile, Supersonic Low Altitude Missile (SLAM) and Maverick air-to-ground missile, among others.

The Super Hornet, unlike previous versions of the aircraft, can be equipped with an aerial refueling system to refuel other aircraft via "buddy refueling."

Maritime superiority

The USS Gettysburg and the USS Stout provide the CSG with massive firepower.

As a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, the Gettysburg's primary armament includes 122 missiles housed in two 61 Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLSs), enabling it to engage air, surface and subsurface targets effectively.

Meanwhile, the USS Stout, a Flight I Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, is equipped with one 29-cell and one 61-cell Mk 41 VLS.

Combined, the two ships are capable of launching more than 200 missiles.

The Mk 41 VLS is a below-deck launching system outfitted with missiles for every warfighting contingency: antiaircraft, anti-surface, anti-submarine, ballistic missile defense and land attack.

This includes the US Navy's preferred land-attack missile: the long-range Tomahawk cruise missile.

The Tomahawk is a lethal ship-launched subsonic cruise missile that can perform deep-land attack on fixed targets or, in its Block IV iteration, loiter over target areas and respond to emerging threats.