Battle Group Foxtrot

**Battle Group Foxtrot**, officially designated the **1st Transglobal Fleet** and also more popularly known as the **Vanguard Fleet**, is a surface fleet that was specially created by the United States Navy during the Urocyan War. Initially created by combining Battle Group Delta and Carrier Strike Group 9, plus some additional recommissioned vessels, it became one of the most powerful fleets within the United States Navy.

## History

### Creation

The 1st Transglobal Fleet is a relatively new development in the history of the US Navy. Following the mass attacks against American naval forces by the likes Urocyia in Operation Tidal Wave, naval commanders were forced to reevaluate their forces, even with the build up they had done prior to the attacks and after the attacks ceased. As a result, a number of ships were reassigned to other units and personnel were shifted around as well. At some point, the idea for a new transglobal fleet came around, being able to depart from a base and deploy to wherever was necessary, and as a counter to one of Urocyia's largest single naval fleets.

It took some time, but eventually, naval commanders gave the orders, and the likes of a carrier group, Carrier Strike Group 9, and a surface action group, Battle Group Delta, were reorganized, and combined into one large fleet. This fleet became officially known as the 1st Transglobal Fleet, but would also be referred to Battle Group Foxtrot while under operations. The fleet combined ships from both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, based on the remnants of what was available, as well as a couple of amphibious ready groups. Due to a number of the ships being older vessels having been decommissioned sometime prior to the conflict but "resurrected" later led to the fleet being nicknamed the "**Vintage Fleet**."

Most of the ships had seen combat in prior actions during the Urocyan conflicts to various degrees, the battleship *Missouri*, under the command of Captain Arthur Snow, was among these more veteran ships. In the end, the vast quantity of ships and submarines brought in to make up the fleet caused the fleet to become known as the US Navy's Vanguard Fleet within the media.

### Urocyan War

Following the formation of the fleet, and repairs to some of the ships, Battle Group Foxtrot began to launch retaliatory strikes against Urocyia, though they have been met with varying levels of success. Arthur, despite being only a captain, was given the duty of being the fleet's combat commander, due to the *Missouri's* status of being designated the fleet's flagship. The fleet is presently among those on the front lines against the Urocyan Imperial Navy and restoring peace, as well as trying to save the world from the desires of Urocyan emperor Arian Torres to conquer the entire world.

As of 2023, the fleet has been based out of Naval Station Norfolk.

## Equipment

### Vessels

Though complements of ships may vary depending on the operation, the general make up of this fleet consists of the following vessels:

#### Cruisers

* USS *Leyte Gulf* (CG-55)
* USS *Cape St. George* (CG-71)

#### Destroyers

* USS *Russell* (DDG-59)
* USS *Mahan* (DDG-72)
* USS *Preble* (DDG-88)
* USS *Pinckney* (DDG-91)
* USS *Kidd* (DDG-100)

#### Frigates

* USS *Curts* (FFG-38)
* USS *Klakring* (FFG-42)
* USS *De Wert* (FFG-45)
* USS *Nicholas* (FFG-47)
* USS *Robert G. Bradley* (FFG-49)
* USS *Kauffman* (FFG-59)
* USS *Rodney M. Davis* (FFG-60)

#### Submarines

* USS *Santa Fe* (SSN-763)
* USS *Seawolf* (SSN-21)
* USS *North Carolina* (SSN-777)

#### Support Ships

* USNS *Rainier* (T-AOE-7)
* USNS *Arctic* (T-AOE-8)

#### Landing Ships

* USS *Tarawa* (LHA-1)
* USS *Peleliu* (LHA-5)

### Aircraft

* F/A-18C Hornet
* F/A-18E Super Hornet
* F/A-18F Super Hornet
* E-2D Hawkeye
* EA-18G Growler
* EA-6B Prowler
* C-2A Greyhound
* MH-60R Seahawk

## Trivia

* The fleet's makeup is somewhat inspired by the game *Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies*, specifically the Aegir Fleet of the Federal Erusean Navy. It had a single aircraft carrier, a battleship, and numerous cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and the like.
* There was an actual US Navy task force that was called "Battle Group Foxtrot." It has, apparently, been dissolved and this fictional fleet shares the name with it.
	+ The fleet was built around the aircraft carrier USS *Abraham Lincoln* (CVN-72), and was active around the early 1990s operating in the Pacific Ocean.
* While modern fleets have aircraft carriers as their flagships, Battle Group Foxtrot has the *Missouri* as the flagship due to her historical significance, and since her reactivation, combat record within the war.
* The nickname "Vintage Fleet" has been tossed around, due to ships like the *Missouri*, the *Oliver Hazard Perry*-class frigates, and the *Tarawa*-class assault ships were all retired but "resurrected" to serve the Navy in the series.
* Several ships seen in this fleet have been inspired by those that appeared in *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022). These include the submarine USS *Seawolf* (SSN-21), destroyer USS *Mahan* (DDG-72), cruiser USS *Leyte Gulf* (CG-55), and, of course, the aircraft carrier USS *Theodore Roosevelt* (CVN-71).