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F/A-18 Super Hornet flies by the flight deck of the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on May 27, 2017. US Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy has begun dual-carrier operations with the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in the Sea of Japan, a service official told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) prepares to pull alongside the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE 8) for a replenishment-at-sea on April 30, 2017. US Navy photo.
Guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) and a South Korean fishing vessel collided in international waters east of the Korean Peninsula, the Navy said in a statement this morning. That fishing vessel lacked functioning radio or GPS and did not heed audio warnings, a defense official told USNI News. Read More
The following is a May 3, 2017 U.S. Navy video of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group operating with ships from the Republic of Korea Navy. Read More
U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test Feb. 3 (Hawaii Standard Time), resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target using the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA off the west coast of Hawaii. For more information visit https://www.mda.mil. (U.S. Navy photo by Leah Garton/Released)
To counter immediate and growing North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile threats, three former Japanese ministers of defense said Tokyo needs to work with Washington to enhance ballistic missile defense capabilities to better defend itself and develop an effective counterstrike if attacked. Read More
Soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army 1st Amphibious Mechanized Infantry Division in 2011. DoD Photo
While four national security experts were cautiously optimistic about the future of Chinese-American relations, the core problem between the two powers is Beijing’s continuing military expansion is threatening the United States’ ability to operate in the Pacific. Read More
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) transits the Philippine Sea while conducting a bilateral exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. US Navy Photo
U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris said the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group can “absolutely” defend itself against anything North Korea could shoot at it, despite media reports to the contrary. Read More
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the “Kestrels” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137 takes off from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on April 10, 2017. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with additional information from U.S. Pacific Fleet.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet on approach to land on aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) crashed on Friday near the Philippines, Navy officials told USNI News. Read More
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) transits the Indian Ocean on April 15, 2017. US Navy Photo
The deployment of Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group has been extended by a month so the CSG can conduct presence operations off the coast of Korea, the commander of the strike group said late Tuesday in a message to his crew. Read More
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) transits the South China Sea on April 8, 2017. US Navy Photo
There was no specific reason U.S. Pacific Command elected to rearrange the schedule of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and send it toward the Korean peninsula, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters on Tuesday. Read More
An F-35 Lightning II stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., departs the runway during the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition (AVALON) on March 4, 2017, in Geelong, Australia. US Air Force photo.
This post has been updated to include information from U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific.
Current and future F-35 Joint Strike Fighter operators met this week to discuss plans for leveraging the fifth-generation airplane in the Pacific. Read More
