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Uss Nimitz News

24 Dec 2025

Phoenix Assists US Navy with Aircraft Recovery in the South China Sea

© Phoenix

Phoenix's International (Phoenix) recently assisted the Naval Sea System Command (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) with the successful recovery of an MH-60R helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft. The two aircraft went down within 30 minutes of each other during routine flight operations off the USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) in the South China Sea on October 26, 2025. All crew members survived and were rescued.Phoenix personnel traveled to Singapore and…

27 Oct 2025

US Navy Helicopter, Fighter Jet Crash in South China Sea

file photo (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Gage Thomas)

A U.S. Navy helicopter and a fighter jet crashed separately into the South China Sea within the space of an hour during routine operations conducted from the same aircraft carrier on Sunday, the U.S. Navy said, adding all personnel were safe.The incidents came while President Donald Trump was on a visit to Asia.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump said the crashes were unusual and could be due to "bad fuel," adding that what caused them would likely soon be known.The U.S. Pacific Fleet, in a post on X, said: "All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition.

16 Jun 2025

US Aircraft Carrier Steams Toward Middle East Tensions

Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) conduct a replenishment-at-sea with the fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205) in the South China Sea, May 29, 2025. Higbee, assigned to the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, is underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations on a scheduled deployment, demonstrating the U.S. Navy’s unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist

U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship tracking website Marine Traffic, after a reception for its planned port call in central Vietnam was cancelled.The carrier had planned to visit Danang City later this week, but two sources, including one diplomat, said a formal reception slated for June 20 had been called off.One of the sources said the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi had informed him about the cancellation…

05 Sep 2023

Repairs to Carrier's Anchor Windlass Completed in Record Time

Sailors aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) complete work on the carrier's anchor during an availability in 2015 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Kofonow)

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility employees and ship’s force worked together to repair the anchor windlass on USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in about a third of the time it took previously.The anchor windlass is comprised of motors, gears and other parts responsible for the controlled lowering and raising of the chain and anchor, which can weigh up to 200,000 pounds on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It's a difficult job that requires much planning and complicated execution.According to Shawn Carragher and Zac Malone…

24 Jul 2023

The Need for [U.S. Navy Shipbuilding] Speed

The world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Adriatic Sea, June 23, 2023.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins)

The Navy wants, and needs, more ships; but it can’t build them fast enough.While the U.S. Navy aims to achieve a 355-ship fleet, it is decommissioning older (and some not so old) ships at about the same rate it's adding new ones.A Congressional Research Service report stated that, as of April 17, 2023, the Navy included 296 battle force ships. "The Navy projects that under its FY2024 budget submission, the Navy would include 293 battle force ships at the end of FY2024 and 291 battle force ships at the end of FY2028."But there is progress…

21 Jun 2023

USS Nimitz Records 350,000th Arrested Landing

U.S. Navy Capt. Craig Sicola, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), front seat, and Cmdr. Luke Edwards, commanding officer of the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, make an arrested landing in an F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-22 marking the 350,000th time the carrier has landed a fixed-wing aircraft on its flight deck. (Source: US Navy)

USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the oldest-serving U.S commissioned aircraft carrier in the world, successfully completed its 350,000th arrested aircraft landing recently while sailing in the South China Sea, a milestone nearly 48 years in the making.Nimitz’s first arrested landing was conducted in 1975, the same year of the ship’s commissioning. Since commissioning, Nimitz has sailed 30 deployments and served in countless operations and missions. It serves as the flagship of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (NIMCSG) which is currently on a regularly-scheduled deployment in the U.S.

06 Apr 2023

Taiwan Watching Chinese Movements After Beijing Denounces US Speaker Meeting

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in formation with the Japanese destroyer JS Umigiri (DD 158), South Korea's destroyers ROKS Yul Gok Yi (DDG 992), ROKS Dae Jo young (DDH 977) and ROKS Choi Young (DDH 981), combat support ship ROKS So Yang (AOE 51), and the U.S. destroyers USS Decatur (DDG 73) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) in the East China Sea on April 4, 2023. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Taiwan was keeping a close watch on a Chinese aircraft carrier and threats to inspect ships in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday after Beijing condemned a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.McCarthy - the third highest ranking official in the U.S. leadership hierarchy - and other Republican and Democratic lawmakers met Tsai on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.The meeting took place at a low ebb of U.S.-China relations and despite threats of retaliation from Beijing…

21 Dec 2022

Great Ships '22: USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125)

The guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) fires a Standard Missile 2 missile from the ship's forward and aft missile decks during a missile exercise. Mustin is one of seven guided missile destroyers assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15 and is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devon Dow/Released)

The Arleigh Burke-class Guided Missile Destroyer - The world’s most successful post-war surface combatantsThe USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class of guided missile destroyers can rightfully be called the most successful class of surface combatants in the post-World War II era. The lead ship was commissioned in 1991, and the Navy is still building them at Huntington Ingalls Industries Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. A total of 89 have been procured through FY2022…

09 Feb 2021

How Will Biden's Iran Strategy Impact Shipping?

© Lotharingia / Adobe Stock

How will Biden read Iranian hostilities? Forceful diplomacy or reckless militancy?Anticipating the Biden Administration’s Iran strategy is crucial for understanding future risks for maritime operators in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and wider Indian Ocean.Though the new U.S. Administration and the Iranian regime have stated their willingness to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, they are unlikely to do so.

17 Sep 2020

Fit for Fight: Navies challenged by COVID at sea, ashore

Fit for the COVID Fight: Sailors stand in ranks before manning the rails of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Photos: U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Huntington

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, navies adjusted how they operate at home and while deployed, to keep their forces ready for any missions as they keep their Sailors, families, communities, as well as allies and partners safe from the coronavirus.Navies have taken a number of prudent preventative measures to limit outbreaks, mitigate cases of infection and reduce the community spread of the virus.Speaking during his May 29 “On The Horizon: Navigating the European and African Theaters” podcast, Admiral James G. Foggo III, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, said The U.S.

08 Sep 2020

US Navy Searching for Missing Sailor in Arabian Sea

File photo: Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) transits the Arabian Sea in August 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Elliot Schaudt)

The United States Navy is searching for a sailor missing from one of its aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz, in the northern Arabian Sea, the U.S. 5th Fleet said on Sunday.“USS Nimitz called man overboard at 6:47 p.m. local time on September 6 after personnel aboard the ship were unable to locate the Sailor following a shipwide search”, the statement on Twitter said.The Nimitz and the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton were conducting search and rescue operations. The sailor’s name was withheld, in accordance with U.S. Navy Policy.(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

21 Jul 2020

US Holds Naval Exercises with Allies in Asia amid China Tension

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, consisting of flagship USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104), and USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114), along with Indian Navy ships Rana, Sahyardi, Shivalik and Kamorta, steam in formation during a cooperative deployment in the Indian Ocean July 20. (U.S. Navy photo by Jose Madrigal)

The United States is conducting two military exercises in Asian waters this week involving allies Japan, Australia and India, the U.S. navy said on Tuesday.The exercises come as military rivalry between the United States and China is intensifying and days after the United States said China’s claims of sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea were illegal.The United States has long opposed China’s expansive territorial claims on the South China Sea, sending warships regularly through the strategic waterway to demonstrate freedom of navigation.China opposes such exercises and said the U.S.

17 Jul 2020

U.S. Aircraft Carriers Return to South China Sea Amid Tensions

USS Ronald Reagan - (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/Released)

For the second time in two weeks, the United States has deployed two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Friday, as China and the United States accuse each other of stoking tensions in the region.The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan carried out operations and military exercises in the contested waterway between July 4 and July 6, and returned to the region on Friday, according to a U.S. Navy statement."Nimitz and Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are operating in the South China Sea…

06 Jul 2020

US Navy Carriers Conduct South China Sea Drills

The USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Carrier Strike Groups conduct dual carrier operations in the Indo-Pacific as the Nimitz CSF. (U.S. Navy photo by Olivia Banmally Nichols)

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.

04 Nov 2018

U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Visits New Zealand

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visited New Zealand, Nov. 2 and 3, to meet with New Zealand naval leadership to discuss deepening the U.S.-New Zealand naval partnership and recognize New Zealand’s role as a leader in regional security. During the visit, Richardson met with his counterpart, Rear Adm. John Martin, Chief of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) to discuss opportunities to increase interoperability through more combined operations and personnel exchanges.“We are two very like nations,” said Richardson. “We share the same values. We are two maritime nations. Our navies operate together, and we’re two nations that are dedicated to a free and open Indo-Pacific region that allows for the prosperity of everybody.”Richardson presented a U.S.

13 Mar 2018

Aircraft Carrier USS Nimitz Enters Drydock

Sailors and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS-IMF) workers shift the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) from its homeport pier in Bremerton, Wash., to a dry dock in PSNS-IMF. (U.S. Navy photo by Ian Kinkead)

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) entered dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton site, March 1, as part of the ship's scheduled 15-month docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) period following a six month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets. Nimitz will receive upgrades and renovations to a variety of systems to include steering components, hull preservation, combat systems equipment, aircraft elevator doors, berthing areas and a new stern dock.

12 Dec 2017

Nimitz Carrier Strike Group Returns to Washington

Washington-based ships assigned to Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11 returned Dec. 10, just in time for the upcoming holidays following a six-month deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and the Arabian Gulf. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), with embarked CSG-11, returned home to Naval Base Kitsap, and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup (DDG 86) and USS Kidd (DDG 100) returned to Naval Station Everett. The strike group consists of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 9, and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS Princeton (CG 59) and USS Lake Erie (CG 70). The air wing and DESRON command staff disembarked in San Diego Dec.

12 Dec 2017

Crowley Scholarships to Four USMMA Cadets

From left to right: Vincent Policastro, Joshua Caan, Jenny Terpenning, Rebecca Snyder and Chandler Chiappe (Photo: Crowley)

Four U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) cadets were awarded with 2017 Thomas B. Crowley Memorial Scholarships during yesterday’s Containerization and Intermodal Institute’s Connie Awards luncheon in Newark, N.J. Jenny Terpenning, supervisor, marine recruiting at Crowley Maritime Corporation, presented the scholarships to Midshipmen (MIDN) Joshua Cann, Vincent Policastro, Rebecca Snyder and Benjamin Starr while also formally recognizing 2016 recipient Chandler Chiappe, all of whom were chosen based on their academic performance…

16 Nov 2017

Newcastle’s Operations Complete

HMAS Newcastle has rounded out her busy six-month deployment to the Middle East, completing some ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ for Australian Navy ships in the region. During her demanding deployment, she patrolled about 25,500 nautical miles or five times the distance around Australia. She conducted a range of Combined Maritime Forces operations, including an attachment in support of the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, and trialled emerging naval capabilities. Commanding Officer, Commander Mark Sirois said the deployment included many highlights. “During our attachment to the US 5th Fleet and USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group we conducted escort operations and a range of manoeuvres with US Navy ships,” he said.

09 Nov 2017

Three-Carrier Strike Force Exercise to Commence in Western Pacific

The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) strike groups will commence a three-carrier strike force exercise in the Western Pacific, Nov. 11-14. Units assigned to the strike force will conduct coordinated operations in international waters in order to demonstrate the U.S. Navy's unique capability to operate multiple carrier strike groups as a coordinated strike force effort. "It is a rare opportunity to train with two aircraft carriers together, and even rarer to be able to train with three," said U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander, Adm. Scott Swift. "Multiple carrier strike force operations are very complex, and this exercise in the Western Pacific is a strong testament to the U.S.

25 Oct 2017

Nimitz Carrier Strike Group Enters 7th Fleet

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 9 arrived in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations (AOO) Oct. 25, after concluding operations in U.S. 5th Fleet. While in 7th Fleet, the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (NIMSG) is scheduled for a port visit and will be ready to support operations throughout the AOO before transiting back to their respective homeports. "The impressive dedication and resolute commitment to professionalism by the Nimitz crew while supporting day and night flight operations as well as the dedication our cruisers and destroyers was vital to promoting the free flow of commerce and enhancing our ties with allies and partners," said Rear Adm.

11 Oct 2017

Inside the USS Gerald R. Ford

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 flies over USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). The aircraft carrier is underway conducting test and evaluation operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Erik Hildebrandt)

President Donald Trump addressed the more than 10,000 people attending the ceremony where the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), was commissioned on Saturday, July 22 in Norfolk, Va. “Wherever this vessel cuts through the horizon, our allies will rest easy and our enemies will shake with fear because everyone will know that America is coming and America is coming strong,” said Trump. Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley recalled President Theodore Roosevelt, who used to say, “Walk softly, and carry a big stick.” Stackley then turned to Trump and said, “Mr.

21 Sep 2017

Newcastle Completes Operations with US 5th Fleet

HMAS Newcastle has completed an attachment with the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in the Arabian Gulf while deployed on maritime security operations in the Middle East region. During the two-week attachment supporting the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG-11), Newcastle conducted escort operations and a range of naval manoeuvres with USN ships. Commander of Australian Forces in the Middle East, Major General John Frewen, said Newcastle’s role directly supported the international effort to ensure a free and open global maritime trading system covering some of the world’s most important sea lines of communication. “Royal Australian Navy ships and personnel have conducted maritime security operations in the Middle East for the past 27 years…