Tag: Carl Vinson

Here is the latest on what is going on with the USS Carl Vinson otherwise known in the media as “Trump’s Armada”:

The USS Carl Vinson, a U.S. aircraft carrier, on Saturday started a joint naval drill with the South Korean Navy in the East Sea amid heightened tensions from North Korea’s failed ballistic missile launch earlier in the morning, defense officials here said.

“South Korea and U.S. strike forces began a drill in the East Sea from 6 p.m. today against the backdrop of the current security situation,” the South Korean Navy said.

No specific schedule for the rendezvous was released to the media yet, but the exercise is expected to continue until sometime next week.

At the core of the naval exercise lies the missile warning informational link exercise (LINKEX) that monitors, traces and intercepts any intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) from North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Considering all the media hype of using the Carl Vinson to bomb North Korea the carrier strike group does not even arrive in the East Sea until next week:

A U.S. Navy strike group led by third Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Carl Vinson will arrive in South Korea’s East Sea next Tuesday and likely participate in a joint military drill between Seoul and Washington to prepare for a possible missile threat from North Korea, officials from the South’s Ministry of National Defense said Monday. Discussions for the exercise are still ongoing, according to a senior official.

The arrival date, April 25, coincides with the 85th anniversary of the North’s Korean People’s Army, which Pyongyang might celebrate with a show of its military power. The local official said Washington was sending the Vinson strike group to South Korean waters because it deemed there was a high possibility the North will raise tension by a nuclear or missile provocation.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but the Carl Vinson was just at South Korea as part of March’s Foal Eagle exercise without the media hype it is getting now.

It is pretty clear that the Trump administration is sending another signal to North Korea that if they try something here in the short term the US is ready to respond:

A U.S. Navy strike group will be moving toward the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean peninsula as a show of force, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday, as concerns grow about North Korea’s advancing weapons program.

Earlier this month North Korea tested a liquid-fueled Scud missile which only traveled a fraction of its range.

The strike group, called Carl Vinson, includes an aircraft carrier and will make its way from Singapore toward the Korean peninsula, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link.