Chief of Naval Operations Spokesperson Cmdr. Courtney Hillson provided the following readout:
Today, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met with Royal Navy First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Sir Ben Key in Venice, Italy, at the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium.
The two leaders discussed a wide range of topics including maritime security, deterrence, interoperability, and technological innovation. They also reaffirmed their shared commitment to uphold and advance the rules-based international system, exchanging views about security issues in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, underscoring the importance of the U.S.-U.K. bilateral relationship and NATO alliance.
The U.S. and Royal Navy regularly operate together around the globe. Notably, both navies participated in this year's Rim of the Pacific, and Baltic Operations exercises, as well as supported numerous real-world joint operations.
Working as interchangeable units, in 2021, USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) took part in a six-month deployment with the HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) carrier strike group, and this fall a Royal Navy ship will deploy with USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) on its maiden deployment.
