Free Republic

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Monday a milestone in the construction of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) with the addition of the ship’s upper bow section at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) in Virginia. The upper bow completes the ship’s flight deck and extends the overall length of the carrier to its full size, which measures 1,106 feet. “Placement of the upper bow gives our entire shipbuilding team a great sense of accomplishment,” said Rolf Bartschi, NNS’ vice president, CVN 78 carrier construction. “We have now structurally erected the flight deck to its full length.” The 787 metric...

LAAD 2013: DCNS reveals Brazilian carrier design DCNS is offering an adapted version of its PA2 design for a future Brazilian aircraft carrier. A model of a 60,000t displacement 285m-long PA2 carrier is being shown by the company at the LAAD exhibition in Rio de Janeiro. Eric Perrot, DCNS surface ships project director, told Shephard that the Brazilian Navy had plans to acquire one or two new aircraft carriers to replace their existing carrier, NAe Sao Paulo, after 2025. The Brazilian Navy released a request for proposals (RfP) in 2012 for specifications for aircraft carriers and Perrot said that DCNS...

The Defence Secretary was in Scotland today to watch an enormous bridge section fitted to the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier. During a visit to Rosyth shipyard, Mr Hammond oversaw the 700-tonne section being lifted into place on the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth. Nearly two thirds of the ship has now been built and the structure is due to be completed by the end of this year. The carrier is then expected to leave the dockyard in 2014 before beginning sea trials with the Royal Navy. The forward island, fitted today, houses the bridge where the captain and navigation...

On the right the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) passes the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Red Sea's Strait of Bab el-Mandeb on June 21, 2011. Via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20060917.htm (medium, large) The Photographer Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (MC2) Brooks B. Patton Jr., United States Navy  

The U.S. Navy will delay the refueling of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for an unknown period because of the uncertain fiscal environment due to the ongoing legislative struggle, the service told Congress in a Friday message obtained by USNI News.

BEIJING (TheBlaze/AP) — Just as it has had many firsts recently with its space program efforts, China has successfully completed another first for its naval aspirations. The country landed its first fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier, which entered service two months ago, the country’s official news agency confirmed Sunday

Far East: Wars have started over less weighty issues than the sovereignty of islands in the East China Sea called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. They are barely rocks above water, but they sit atop valuable resources and are rapidly becoming a flash point as a rising power confronts one whose sun has set. These islands have become involved in a three-way tug of war between China, Taiwan and Japan with each sending fishing boats, even armed vessels, to the area. Private boats from Japan recently journeyed to the Senkakus to plant the Japanese flag one more time....

As the United States continues to help Israel improve its missile defense shield due to growing fears of possible attack by Syria and Iran, claims by Iran that it has developed its own ‘carrier-killer’ that can evade U.S. Navy defense systems to hit ships in the Persian Gulf are drawing skepticism from naval experts. As first reported by Jane’s Defence Weekly , Iran released images of a test last month in which the Khalij Fars antiship ballistic missile was launched and struck a moving target. The missile is purported to be a smaller version of China’s modified Dong Feng 21,...

Russia will begin building new aircraft carriers after 2020, Russian navy chief Viktor Chirkov said on Thursday, in a major boost to Moscow's ability to deploy air power abroad. “At the moment, the construction bureau has received its assignment, the documents are being processed, and the money for the construction program has been allocated,” Chirkov said. If the plans reach fruition, it would be a major boon to the Russian navy, which currently fields only one aging aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov. The Kuznetsov, part of the navy’s Northern Fleet, was built in 1985 and has been scheduled to undergo...

The Pentagon is sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East several months early to make sure at least two carriers will constantly be present in the troubled region. There are two carriers in the area now, but one was scheduled to leave before its replacement arrived to fill that gap, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has approved sending by late summer the USS John C. Stennis strike group, which also includes the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and some 5,500 sailors. The extra presence was approved late last week on a request by Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S....

USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH, At Sea (NNS) -- USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) hosted the ship's namesake, former President George H.W. Bush, and his son, former President George W. Bush, for a promotion and reenlistment ceremony off the coast of Kennebunkport, Maine, June 10. "It's a great honor to be out here," said George H.W. Bush. "I'm thrilled to be on this vessel that bears my name, and I'm very proud of all of those that re-up'd for service to our great country." The ship's sponsor, Doro Bush Koch, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and other members of the...

The 2 Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbines on the Queen Elizabeth class don't seem very powerful compared to the 2 A4W nuclear reactors on the Gerald R. Ford class

The USS Gerald R. Ford, a huge new aircraft carrier, reached a milestone in its pricey and extensive construction Thursday when its final keel section was lowered into place at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. The 680-metric-ton lower bow unit is one of the largest of the 500 modules that will make up the completed ship and is over 60-feet-tall. The bulbous bow seen in the picture shifts water flow around the hull, reducing drag and thus increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency, and stability. Carriers with bulbous bows have achieve about 12 to 15 percent increased fuel efficiency than vessels...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. Navy said Monday it has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions with Iran over its disputed nuclear program. The deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along with the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks one of the few times the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating in waters near the Persian Gulf, said Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. The two carriers will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden,...

China Carrier Preps for Flight Ops? Photos posted to the Internet in China last week seem to confirm that the Chinese Navy has installed arrestor gear and other vital equipment on its refurbished Soviet-made aircraft carrier, the ex-Varyag. If genuine, the installations could represent a big step forward for the first-ever seaborne, fixed-wing aviation capability for the People's Liberation Army Navy. One image appears to show a traditional four-wire arrangement on the aft flight deck of the roughly 1,000-foot-long carrier. Another depicts a small tractor of the type used to move aircraft around the deck. The ex-Varyag, which was speculated...

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — When the makers of "Top Gun" were filming on board the USS Enterprise, they donated a set of black fuzzy dice to liven up the ship's otherwise drab interior. A quarter-century later, the dice will still be dangling inside the tower of "the Big E" as the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sets sail on its final voyage Sunday...

This is very unnerving, landing with deck pitching 30 feet, at night, low on fuel. Incredible. You will never forget viewing this. I have seen a lot of aviation videos but the two videos below are undoubtedly the best. Turn on your sound. I guarantee this will definitely hold your attention.

flight decks that once thundered and boomed with jet aircraft are silent. The passageways and compartments where thousands of sailors worked, ate and slept are empty. The once meticulously swept and kept decks are worn and torn, some covered in bird droppings. The names of the Navy’s seven decommissioned non-nuclear aircraft carriers conjure up well-earned reputations as Cold War bulwarks. And while at least some are the objects of preservation efforts, chances are slim more than one will survive as a museum ship. The rest are taking up valuable pier space, and the only thing the Navy wants now is...

The Navy has estimated a worst-case cost overrun of as much as $1.1 billion for the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, the service's most expensive warship. The carrier is being built in Newport News by Huntington Ingalls Industries under a cost-plus, incentive-fee contract in which the Navy pays for most of the overruns. Even so, the service's efforts to control expenses may put the company's $579.2 million profit at risk, according to the Navy.

DENVER – DigitalGlobe Inc., a commercial satellite company, said Wednesday that it took a photograph of China’s first aircraft carrier during a sea trial in the Yellow Sea, off the Chinese coast.

US Government Urges American Citizens to Leave Syria as US Aircraft Carrier Approaches As the violent crackdown against Syrian dissidents continues, the US government is warning all American citizens in the country to leave immediately, according to CBS. Turkish citizens are also being warned to stay out of the country. The US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, was pulled from that country last month. The U.S. embassy continues to urge U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available,” began a statement released Wednesday on the embassy website. “The number of airlines serving Syria has decreased significantly...

The US Navy's newest and mightiest nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS George H W Bush*, has been plagued by continual failures in its lavatories, according to reports. Sailors have been forced into increasingly desperate measures to relieve themselves. The Navy Times, following up initial stories of the problems appearing on blogs, quotes members of the 5,000-strong ship's complement as stating that at times there hasn't been a single working head – as lavs are known at sea – anywhere aboard the entire mighty hundred-thousand-ton warship. Reportedly the Bush is fitted with no less than 423 thrones, but it appears...

It may seem like a trivial inconvenience in the scheme of things, but it's become routine enough that some sailors aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush say it's affecting their morale, their health and their job performance: Since the ship left for its maiden combat deployment in May, its toilet system has suffered outages so frequently that crew members sometimes can't find a single working commode. Over the weekend, the mother of one Bush sailor became so upset by her son's repeated reports of widespread toilet outages that she blasted a news release about it to reporters across...

The Russian Navy has reportedly agreed to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to expand the country’s influence in the world’s oceans. The decision though is yet to be approved by the president. Currently, Russia has only aircraft cruiser, Admiral Kuznetsov, which was launched back in 1985. For years it was debated as to whether the country needs more flattops or if having atomic subs and cruisers would be enough to face modern challenges. Finally, Russian admirals selected the so-called American model of the fleet: ship groups with an aircraft carrier in the center, writes Izvestia daily. The marine officers believe...

China's first aircraft carrier on Wednesday left its shipyard in the country's northeast to start its first sea trial, the state news agency Xinhua said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is building two aircraft carriers as part of a military modernization program that is causing concern among other Asian countries, sources said on Wednesday. President Hu Jintao has made the navy a keystone of China's defense upgrade, and the carriers will be among the most visible signs of its rising military prowess. ... "Two aircraft carriers are being built at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai," a source with ties to China's Communist Party leadership told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the program. China's Defense Ministry has confirmed the existence of...

Our furnace has quit and a major decision has to be made. We have a gas (propane) furnace that has lasted 15 years. The outside cooling unit would still work IF the furnace fan system was working. The furnace people have recommended Carrier. They also carry Trane. Does anybody have recent experience with the duel system with gas and heat pump? This will be a major expense, more than 15,000.00 so anybody with knowledge to help guide me to the best decision of a bad deal would be appreciated.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be named the USS John F. Kennedy. The selection John F. Kennedy, designated CVN 79, honors the 35th President of the United States and pays tribute to his service in the Navy, in the government, and to the nation. “President John F. Kennedy exemplified the meaning of service, not just to country, but service to all humanity,” said Mabus. “I am honored to have the opportunity to name the next aircraft carrier after this great sailor and inspirational leader, and to keep the rich...

This is very unnerving, landing with deck pitching 30 feet, at night, low on fuel. Incredible. You will never forget viewing this. I have seen a lot of aviation videos but the two videos below are undoubtedly the best. Turn on your sound. I guarantee this will definitely hold your attention.

Chinese Carrier Lacks Fighters May 5, 2011 By David Axe If China's navy wants to undertake real long-range operations, its new aircraft carrier will need a more diverse air wing. As noted by Douglas Paal here over the weekend, in recent weeks, the Chinese navy has taken big steps toward deploying its first aircraft carrier, underscoring the nation's rapid ascent as a world power. Twelve years after Beijing purchased the incomplete Russian aircraft carrier Varyag, the 60,000-ton vessel — renamed Shi Lang — is reportedly on track to begin sea trials this summer. Shi Lang's first planes are nearly ready,...

Spartans, UNC to play on an aircraft carrierBy Reporter, Deseret News Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 12:11 a.m. MDT SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Sports Commission has confirmed that Michigan State and North Carolina will play in the Carrier Classic on Veterans Day, the first NCAA basketball game to be played aboard an aircraft carrier. The commission, working with Morale Entertainment Foundation, says it has received written commitments from the two schools and that approval from the U.S. Navy is expected soon. Organizers haven't announced which aircraft carrier will host the Nov. 11 game.

The Pentagon was expected to announce that the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, which is sailing in the Pacific, passed through a radioactive cloud from stricken nuclear reactors in Japan, causing crew members on deck to receive a month’s worth of radiation in about an hour, government officials said Sunday.

The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal has been decommissioned at a ceremony in its home base of Portsmouth. The warship was scrapped after 25 years' service as part of the government's defence budget review. The move leaves the Navy without the capability of launching fixed-wing aircraft until replacements come into service at the end of the decade.

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) - The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is scheduled for work at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in January 2012. The Kitsap Sun says it will undergo maintenance similar to the yearlong $250 million job the shipyard began in December on the aircraft carrier Nimitz.

HMS Nightclub: Pride of the Fleet may become a Chinese disco By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 12:44 AM on 8th January 2011 Nearly 30 years ago she was at the heart of the Royal Navy task force that drove the Argentine army from the Falkland Islands. Harrier jets roared from the flight deck of HMS Invincible to wrest control of the skies from the invaders’ Mirage fighters. Soon, however, the vast hanger of the aircraft carrier that once echoed to the clatter of planes is being rearmed for their next sortie, may well be throbbing to the beat...

12/27/10 The U.S. will deploy another nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Northeast Asia in response to North Korea's threat of a "sacred war" using nuclear weapons, media reports said. The Ronald Reagan will bring to three the number of U.S. aircraft carrier fleets in the west Pacific, joining the George Washington in Japan and the Carl Vinson that just arrived in Guam. China's official Xinhua news agency said the new addition could raise tensions in the region, with the Chinese military already calling it the biggest threat to China and North Korea in six decades. Commissioned in 2003, the Ronald Reagan...

25 November 2010 The Korean crisis and US carrier diplomacy By Nick Childs Defence and security correspondent, BBC News The USS George Washington has experience in the waters off the Korean peninsula Indeed, the George Washington has already been deployed there this year, following the rise in tensions after the sinking in March of the South Korean warship Cheonan - widely blamed on the North. Then, as now, it was to send a series of messages - supposedly of reassurance to the South, and deterrence to the North. It is a move that the United States has made many times...

Carrier Enterprise turns 49 on Thanksgiving Day Credit: U.S. Navy The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise during sea trials earlier this year. by US Navy News 13NEWS / WVEC.com Posted on November 25, 2010 at 1:00 PM NORFOLK (NNS) -- The Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is celebrating its 49th birthday on this Thanksgiving Day. The strike group is currently in port undergoing preparations for an upcoming deployment. During its commissioning, then Secretary of the Navy John B. Connally Jr. called the Big E a worthy successor to the seventh Enterprise, which was the most decorated ship in World...

(Reuters) - A U.S. aircraft carrier group set off for Korean waters on Wednesday, a day after North Korea rained artillery shells on a South Korean island, in a move likely to enrage Pyongyang and unsettle its ally, China.....

/begin my translation S. Korea and U.S. to Do a Naval Excercise w/ U.S. Carrier Joining, Starting on 28th (in Yellow Sea) Kim Kwi-geun = S. Korea and U.S. will conduct joint (naval) exercise in Yellow Sea starting on Nov. 28th, U.S. Dept of Defense announced on Nov. 24 /end my translation

Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the government has confirmed it will build both Queen Elizabeth class carriers but the first will carry no planes and be removed from active service after three years once the second is completed. The second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, will be redesigned to enable it to take the conventional Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) planes currently being built by the US, rather than the more advanced and more expensive variant the previous government had planned to buy The first carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will be completed in 2016 but will only carry helicopters...

Britain's aircraft carriers will be left without planes for a period because of cuts to the military budget in next week's spending review, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has confirmed. Two former heads of the Royal Navy have warned that a decision to withdraw Harrier jets before the arrival of new Joint Strike Fighter F35s in 2018 would leave Britain unable to fight another Falklands War. Dr Fox confirmed that there will be a "gap" between the phasing out of the Harriers and the US-built F35s coming into service, but insisted that this will not put the Falklands at risk. Britain...

The Royal Navy looks set to have two new carriers capable of supporting planes as well as helicopters, Ministry of Defence sources have confirmed. There had been speculation the second of the two carriers ordered by the Navy - the HMS Prince of Wales, due to enter service in 2018 - would be either be scrapped, downgraded, or moth-balled following the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). Originally conceived as a Queen Elizabeth class carrier capable of supporting the American-built F35 Joint Strike Fighter, it had been rumoured the MoD would alter its specifications to that of a helicopter carrier....

U.S. to send George Washington to Yellow Sea for future joint drills with S. Korea: Pentagon By Hwang Doo-hyong WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday reaffirmed its pledge to send a super carrier to joint military exercises with South Korea in waters near China despite Beijing's objections. "The USS George Washington will indeed exercise in the Yellow Sea again," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. "We have said that will take place. I don't think we have determined a date yet, but rest assured, the George Washington will operate in the Yellow Sea, as it does in other...

China urges ROK, U.S. to treat its concern seriously English.news.cn 2010-08-07 01:51:00 BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua)-- China on Friday urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States to treat its concern and position seriously on the ROK-U.S. military drills in the Yellow Sea. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks after the Pentagon said Thursday, according to media reports, that the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington would take part in a series of ROK-U.S. joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea in the coming months. "We have repeatedly expressed our clear and firm stance on the...

MoD may sell carrier to fill huge hole in defence budget Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent Britain may be forced to sell one of its flagship new aircraft carriers to plug a huge hole in its defence budget. Talks are taking place at the Ministry of Defence about finding a buyer for one of the ships being built at a cost of £5.2 billion for the Royal Navy. The financial crisis at the MoD has deepened after Chancellor George Osborne rejected a bid by Defence Secretary Liam Fox to get the Treasury to pay for the renewal of the Trident nuclear...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The official photos from a major Asian security forum in Hanoi this week will likely show Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi dutifully smiling and shaking hands. But behind the scenes of the meeting, an ominous new Chinese weapons system that the Pentagon worries could alter the balance of power in the Pacific is further complicating the tense Sino-American military dialogue.

U.S. Ships Could Move to East Sea for Joint Drill South Korea and the U.S. are mulling a joint maritime drill in both the East and West Seas this month after China lodged a protest against a huge U.S. military presence on its doorstep. The idea is to deploy some of the bigger American ships including an aircraft carrier to the east of the Korean Peninsula instead. A government source on Monday said there is "near-consensus" for turning the planned West Sea drill into an exercise in both the East and West Seas to reflect the positions of Beijing and...

Living Target JULY 07, 2010 11:19 Chinese Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, told a Hong Kong TV station Monday, “If a U.S. aircraft carrier enters the Yellow Sea, it will become a living target.” Unleashing hard-line comments, he said, “Just as we’d block a snoring person from approaching one’s bed, can we allow other people to perform a sword dance right in front of our door?,” adding, “China is not fish but a tiger lion.” The official Chinese daily Global Times also said that if the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington...

India's first naval fighter squadron turns 50 TNN, Jul 5, 2010, 12.38am IST NEW DELHI: The `White Tigers' turn 50 this week. No, not the ones from Rewa but India's first-ever naval fighter squadron, which takes its name from the famous tigers with white fur instead of the usual orange due to a recessive gene. It was on July 7, 1960, that the INSAS 300 squadron was commissioned at the British Royal Naval air station in Brawdy, propelling India into the exclusive club of countries which flew fighters from aircraft carriers. The squadron, with its crest depicting the white tiger...