SEA OF JAPAN (April 12, 2022) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), center, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), left, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) guided-missile destroyer JS Kong (DDG 173), right, JMSDF Murasame-class destroyer JS Inazuma (DD 105), back left, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) are underway in formation during a U.S.-Japan bilateral exercise in the Sea of Japan. During bilateral exercises between the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and JMSDF, 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)