USNI News French Navy Exercise Combines Ships from 5 Navies on Short Notice April 12, 2021 4:50 PM U.S. Navy Ensign Micael Lozano, left, and Lt. Erik Bohman observe (from left to right) HMAS Anzac, IN Satpura, and FS Tonnerre from the bridge wing of the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD 25) during La Perouse 2021. US Navy Photo Amphibious warship USS Somerset (LPD-25) joined ships and aircraft from five countries in the Bay of Bengal last week for a multi-lateral exercise designed to help the navies quickly organize and operate as an integrated, combined maritime force. French-led exercise La Pérouse was “notable” because ships from the U.S., France, Japan, Australia and India “were able to quickly aggregate into a multi-national, maritime force,” said Cmdr. Dave Kurtz, who commands San Diego, Calif.-based