Tag: aircraft carrier

North Korea was surprisingly quiet during the recent Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, but I don’t expect them to be quiet for much longer and apparently neither does the Pentagon:

The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), a forward-deployed aircraft carrier, will arrive at the South Korean port city of Busan later this month amid signs of a possible nuclear test by North Korea, government sources said Friday.

According to the sources, Seoul and Washington are discussing plans to conduct bilateral exercises on the East Sea after the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrives in Busan.

The Reagan is expected to stay in the country for about a week to participate in the military drill with the South Korean Navy, as well as friendly and goodwill events.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

South Korea announced that they will put their 2nd helicopter carrier into operation in October of this year:

South Korea’s new 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship will be deployed in October with improved combat capabilities developed with the country’s own technologies, the military said Monday.

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Boo Suk-jong presided over a commissioning ceremony for the landing platform helicopter (LPH) ship Marado at the southern port of Jinhae ahead of the planned deployment, according to the military. 

Named after the country’s southernmost island, the Marado is South Korea’s second large-scale transport ship following the Dokdo, which was deployed in 2007.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but besides helicopters this carrier can also be used to land Ospreys and F-35’s with vertical launch capabilities.

This is something that the Stars & Stripes in my opinion should not be publishing considering it involves the readiness of a U.S. aircraft carrier. Additionally people should not be leaking these emails to the Stars & Stripes to begin with:

Hundreds of sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan are quarantined after having close contact with others who tested positive for the coronavirus, according to emails between the ship’s leaders.

About 350 Reagan sailors “are in some form of” quarantine at Yokosuka, the carrier’s homeport, according to executive officer Capt. Matthew Ventimiglia, who started an email chain Sunday between the ship’s senior leaders. Some are in isolation because they recently arrived in Japan, according to Ventimiglia’s email.

Stars and Stripes on Tuesday obtained the email chain, which includes messages from Reagan commander Capt. Fred Goldhammer and senior medical officer Capt. George Rice to department heads and leading chief petty officers.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Does anyone think that a bio-attack will be used in a future conflict when an aircraft carrier can be taken out like this:

The Navy, the military service hit hardest by the coronavirus, scrambled Friday to contain its first at-sea outbreak, with at least two dozen infected aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of 11 active aircraft carriers whose mission is central to the Pentagon’s strategy for deterring war with China and Iran.

The Roosevelt and its contingent of warplanes may be sidelined for days, sitting pier side in Guam as the entire crew — more than 5,000 — is tested. Navy leaders say the carrier could return to duty at any time if required, but the sudden setback is seen as a harbinger of more trouble to come.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is just a preview of what will happen if the US signs a peace treaty to end the Korean War:

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was blocked entry to the Jeju Navy base by a group of kayak protesters on Thursday.

Some 200 civic activists in kayaks paddled out to the sea off the base to protest the 2018 International Fleet Review, interrupting the entry of the U.S. aircraft carrier.

The USS Ronald Reagan, one of the Navy’s largest warships participating in the naval event, has been rescheduled to enter Friday, according to a South Korean Navy official, Munhwa Ilbo reported.

The U.S. warship attended a nautical parade, as scheduled, which is a highlight of the fleet review that featured 40 ships and 24 aircraft demonstrating their naval prowess. The fleet review runs until Sunday. [UPI]

You can read more at the link, but the Korean left has long been unhappy about the Jeju naval base largely because it was pushed through by a prior conservative administration.  One of the main reasons for the base was because of the territorial claims that China was making towards Ieodo a submerged rock that is home to a Korean research station off the coast of Jeju.

If the US signs a peace treaty to end the Korean War these leftist protesters will be emboldened to do things like claiming that the US military presence is no longer needed because there is “peace”.  The Moon administration will do little to nothing to stop the protesters from disrupting US military operations much like what we are currently seeing with the THAAD site in Korea that is still blockaded by protesters.

It is pretty clear that over the next month enormous pressure is going to be put on North Korea to give up their nuclear and ICBM programs as even the European powers are now deploying military assets into the region:

France’s Mistral amphibious assault carrier docked in Nagasaki, Japan on April 29 in advance of military exercises to be conducted with the U.K., U.S., and Japan. Nagasaki is the closest major Japanese port to South Korea, and coming at a time of tension on the peninsula, the French and U.K. naval presence sends a strong message to both China and North Korea. Japan’s increased naval activity is also welcome support for South Korea, and will decrease diplomatic tension between the two natural allies. The U.K. and French presence shows that NATO, including the U.S., is strongly behind South Korea.  [Forbes]

You can read more at the link.

What really bothers me about this whole USS Carl Vinson story is why should the US Navy report to the media where their ships are at?:

The U.S. military’s top Pacific chief was in the hot seat Wednesday at a House hearing and took the blame for apparent miscommunication over the USS Carl Vinson carrier’s movements amid the rising tensions with North Korea.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said in an interview the military was sending “an armada” to the Korean Peninsula and reports at the time indicated the carrier strike group was led by the Vinson. But as tensions mounted with North Korea over the nuclear and ballistic-missile threat, it was learned last week from a New York Times story the Vinson was actually headed in another direction and not toward Korean waters.

“With regard to the Carl Vinson, that’s my fault on the confusion and I’ll take the hit for it,” Navy Adm. Harry Harris, the four-star commander of U.S. Pacific Command, testified at a hearing of the House Committee on Armed Services.

Harris explained that he made the decision to pull the aircraft carrier out of Singapore and cancel a port visit to Australia. He also ordered the carrier to proceed north. However, he said, he failed to communicate that adequately to the press. “So that is all on me.”  [CNBC]

You can read more at the link.

Here is the stupidest article that I have read today that is example of the bias in the mainstream media against the Trump administration:

Trump ‘Armada’ Sent to Deter Kim Can’t Shoot Down His Missiles

The U.S. Navy flotilla sailing toward the Korean peninsula to deter Kim Jong Un’s regime lacks a key capability: It can’t shoot down ballistic missiles.

The USS Carl Vinson and the aircraft carrier’s accompanying destroyers and cruiser are expected to arrive in waters near the peninsula this week, carrying a full complement of weaponry, including scores of Tomahawk cruise and anti-ship missiles, radar-jamming aircraft and non-stealthy “Super Hornet” jets built by Boeing Co.

That firepower brings a lot to any fight, but the Navy’s lack of ballistic missile defense capability on the scene means the Trump administration’s high-profile show of force has a significant gap as it warns North Korea against another missile test and pressures it to back down from its nuclear program.  [Bloomberg]

Does this writer, Anthony Capaccio really think the US Navy is stupid enough to put an aircraft carrier at risk of a North Korean ballistic missile strike without missile defense?  The US Navy will defend the aircraft carrier and any other assets with an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capability as needed.  Where the carrier is at now off the coast of Okinawa does not warrant Aegis BMD protection.

The article then goes on to claim the Korean peninsula is at risk from ballistic missile attack as well:

While the Obama administration began the process of deploying Thaad, a high-altitude missile defense system, to the South Korean mainland, the hardware isn’t fully operational yet either. That leaves Seoul — just 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of the demilitarized zone — and the rest of the country more vulnerable to attack.

Obviously Mr. Capaccio does not know that both the US and the ROK militaries have Patriot missile batteries located across the peninsula.  The THAAD battery was installed to add an advanced upper tier missile defense capability to compliment the already existing lower tier Patriot coverage.

It is pretty clear by the title of the article that Mr. Capaccio is trying to make President Trump look dumb by supposedly not having an Aegis BMD ship with the carrier.  The media is now jumping on this meme with Newsweek publishing a similar headline of “USS Carl Vinson Cannot Shoot Down Missiles“.  I wonder how many other media outlets will echo the same claim to where people who read just the headline begin to think it is true?

Here is the latest exercise held between the ROK and the United States to further deter North Korea:

The flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was bustling with sailors and planes Friday to demonstrate air flight operations to dozens of South Korean reporters who arrived on board after an hour-long flight from a U.S. air base near Seoul.

The first thing that greeted reporters was pilots in the cockpits of their Super Hornet fighter jets getting ready to take off and the flight deck crew assisting in the operations in waters some 240 kilometers from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, and north of Jeju Island.

Before the planned demonstration, Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of the carrier battle group of the U.S. 7th Fleet, delivered a short briefing on the ongoing joint exercise between South Korean and U.S. navies amid ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

“Our operations on the Korean peninsula are part of the ongoing partnership with our Republic of Korea Navy counterparts that has been around for more than 5 decades now. The work we have done with our counterparts has proven to strengthen our alliance,” the flag officer said.

As for the meaning of the combined exercise, Lt. Commander Aaron V. Kakiel, a spokesman for Carrier Strike Group 5, which the nuclear carrier is a part of, said, “This exercise has been planned for a very long time. We’ve been working with our Korean counterparts to exercise our interoperability in this area. It is not a direct response to any (provocative) actions (by any country). It is meant to be training for us to work together for a stronger alliance.”

During the 30-minute demonstration, nine fighter jets took off and 15 fighter jets made landings. Most of the fighter jets were FA-18 Super Hornets. Others were the E-2C Hawk Eye early warning plane and the EA-18G Growler, the fleet’s electronics warfare plane.

U.S. and South Korean navy officials said the joint exercise will further improve interoperability to be fully ready to strike back against any military attacks by North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.