220411-N-DF558-1458

SEA OF JAPAN (April 12, 2022) Aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 and Japan Air Self-Defense Force fly over the Sea of Japan as the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), center, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), left, JMSDF Kongō-class guided-missile destroyer JS Kongō (DDG 173), right, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Murasame-class destroyer JS Inazuma (DD 105), back left, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) sail in formation during a U.S.-Japan bilateral exercise. During bilateral exercises between Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the two navies strengthen all-domain awareness and maneuvers across a distributed maritime environment. Bilateral operations like this one reassure our allies and partners of the U.S. commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Aleksandr Freutel)