US Navy Carriers Conduct South China Sea Drills
Two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are conducting exercises in the contested South China Sea within sight of Chinese naval vessels spotted near the flotilla, the commander of one of the carriers, the USS Nimitz, told Reuters on Monday.“They have seen us and we have seen them,” Rear Admiral James Kirk said in a telephone interview from the Nimitz, which has been conducting flight drills in the waterway with the Seventh Fleet carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, that began on the U.S. Independence Day holiday of July 4.The U.S.
Navy Contracts for BAE, Norfolk & IMIA, Bremerton
The following two contracts have been awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense. BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $48,628,316 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-4308) for the USS Laboon (DDG 58) fiscal 2013 extended drydocking selected restricted availability. An extended drydocking selected restricted availability includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications that will update and improve the ship's military and technical capabilities.
Midway Demonstrated Carrier Importance
In the late spring of 1942, a Japanese carrier strike force launched more than 100 planes from the northwest to conduct an air attack on the U.S. military at Midway Atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. By 5:30 a.m. that day the United States located and identified the incoming Japanese threat. In an hour�s time, America and Japan engaged in what would later be looked back upon as the most pivotal naval engagement of World War II. June 4-6 marks the 65th anniversary and remembrance of the confrontation, which genuinely demonstrated the importance of the Navy�s aircraft carriers, after the U.S. fleet sank all four Japanese carriers involved, and consequently neutralized the Pacific front.
Review: Pacific Needs More Navy Presence
The Pentagon, in its strategic Quadrennial Defense Review, supports an increased Navy presence in the Pacific but gave few details on how this vision might take shape. The Pentagon has indicated that the decision would not be made until after release and evaluation of the Quadrennial Defense Review. Guam and Hawaii are being considered as possible locations for Navy carriers. It’s been reported that the estimated cost of basing an aircraft carrier on Guam is $5 billion, compared to $2.2 billion for Hawaii. The Pentagon report offers no details about carrier basing, noting only that the Navy plans to have at least six operationally available and sustainable carriers in the region.
