SHOW OF
CARRIER FORCE
THE US NAVY marked a milestone
in early November when seven
of its 11 aircraft carriers were
simultaneously at sea for the first
time since 2004. At the time, three
of the ships, comprising the USS
Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS
Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Theodore
Roosevelt (CVN 71) and their
associated carrier strike groups
(CSG) were conducting operational
deployments in the western Pacific
as part of the Seventh US Fleet. In
addition, the USS Carl Vinson (CVN
70) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN
74) were operating in the
eastern Pacific and USS AbrahamLincoln (CVN 72) and the Navy’s
newest carrier, the USS Gerald R.
Ford (CVN 78), were conducting
training operations in the Atlantic.
The three deployed CSGs
subsequently joined together to
conduct joint exercises off the coast
of the Korean peninsula in the Sea
of Japan from November 11-14.
They were joined by ships from
South Korea and Japan to conduct
air defense drills, defensive air
combat training, sea surveillance,
under-way replenishments,
close-in co-ordinated maneuvers
and other training. The exercise
marked the first time three strikegroups have operated together in
the western Pacific since 2007. The
Nimitz CSG was at the tail end of a
deployment to the Persian Gulf thatbegan in June and the Roosevelt
CSG deployed from San Diego,
California, en route to the same
area on October 7.Northrop Grumman’s decision not to
respond to the Navy’s MQ-25 request
for proposals came as a huge surprise.
Northrop GrummanThe USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76),
and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Strike Groups operate together in the western
Pacific on November 11, conducting exercises in international waters.
US Navy/LT JG James Griffinhttp://www.combataircraft.net January 201808
[NEWS] UNITED STATES
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