SEVEN US NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIERS ARE NOW SIMULTANEOUSLY UNDERWAY:
Seven out of 11 U.S. nuclear aircraft carriers are underway simultaneously for the first time in several years, USNI News has learned.
Three are on operational deployments in the Western Pacific with full air wings and carrier strike groups — USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).
Four more are out for short training missions as part of training operations or workups ahead of deployments. USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) are operating in the Eastern Pacific. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and the Navy’s newest carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are operating in the Atlantic.
A Navy official confirmed the basic details of the carrier moves on Monday, to USNI News.
The Reagan, Nimitz and Roosevelt strike groups are all operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Reagan is operating in the Sea of Japan near the Korean peninsula while Nimitz is returning to its homeport at Naval Station Kitsap-Bremerton, Wash. after a deployment to the Persian Gulf to conduct air strike against ISIS targets. Roosevelt deployed from San Diego, Calif. on Oct. 7 set to replace Nimitz as part of the continued U.S. operation against ISIS.
The carriers in 7th Fleet could converge for the first simultaneous three-strike group training operations in a decade, defense officials have told USNI News.
“These three carriers are not there specifically targeting North Korea,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford said last week. “This is a routine demonstration of our commitment to the region.”
Routine, huh? GEN Dunford is soft-pedaling it. It’s a major show of force.
Here’s Carrier Strike Group 5 at sea (photo taken in June 2017). This one records a “dual aircraft carrier strike group operation” conducted in 2016. Navy carrier strike groups receive USAF support. Here are two examples. (1) A USAF E-3 Sentry AWACS operating with the USS Theodore Roosevelt. (2) A USAF B-1B strategic bomber in formation with a USN F/A-18E.
Read this post for background on the AWACS.