USS Fort Worth Docks in Busan, Korea

US Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrived in Busan, March 14, to strengthen partnerships with the Republic of Korea (ROK) navy during her maiden 16-month rotational deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The visit to Busan comes after Fort Worth’s inaugural participation in Exercise Foal Eagle where the ship conducted bilateral training with the ROK navy and the guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), and USS Lassen (DDG 82).

Following an initial stop in Pyeongtaek at the beginning of Foal Eagle, Busan is the second Korean port visited by a littoral combat ship since these vessels began deploying to the region in 2013.

Exercise Foal Eagle in an umbrella of regularly scheduled, annual exercises that are the culmination of many months of planning and based on realistic training scenarios. The naval portion of the Foal Eagle exercises take place in international waters around South Korea and features a full spectrum of maritime operations.

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Image: US Navy