Four aircraft carriers from the United States were operating in the Pacific Ocean this week. At least one of them was on a deployment as it shifted its home port from the West Coast to Japan, joining U.S. forward-deployed forces in the Asian nation.
Elsewhere, two aircraft carriers from China were for the first time pictured docked together, at a naval base on the South China Sea. Another Chinese aircraft carrier, which has yet to enter into service, remained at a shipyard following the conclusion of sea trials last month.
A Japanese vessel currently undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier arrived on the U.S. West Coast for flight testing with fighter jets.
Newsweek‘s weekly update maps aircraft carrier movements in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. As of October 11, the locations of at least nine aircraft carriers were publicly available via military disclosures or open-source satellite imagery. The U.S. has the world’s largest aircraft carrier fleet with 11 in service. China ranks second with three ships.
U.S. Navy
USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson, USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS George Washington: Eastern Pacific Ocean
The Nimitz remained underway in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the U.S. Naval Institute-run USNI News reported on Monday. It was in the integrate phase of the optimized fleet plan to further develop core unit capabilities, according to photos published by the Navy.
The Carl Vinson departed from Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, on Thursday, according to San Diego Web Cam, which features livestreaming views.
The Theodore Roosevelt remained underway in the Third Fleet’s area of operations in the eastern Pacific Ocean as of Wednesday. In January, the aircraft carrier departed its North Island home port for a scheduled western Pacific Ocean deployment. It was diverted to the Middle East on July 12 and remained in the region until September 12.
The George Washington, which was heading to Yokosuka naval base in Japan for forward deployment, remained underway in the eastern Pacific Ocean as of Wednesday.
USS Ronald Reagan: San Diego, California
The Ronald Reagan hosted a tour for Australian air force service members while in-port on North Island, San Diego, on Thursday. It is being prepared for an estimated 17-month maintenance program scheduled for March 2025 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington.
People’s Liberation Army Navy
CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong: Sanya, Hainan
Satellite imagery showed that the Liaoning and the Shandong, China’s first and second operational aircraft carriers, were pier-side at Sanya naval base on China’s southern island of Hainan on Tuesday. This was the first time they had been seen moored together.
The Shandong is based in Sanya, while the Liaoning is homeported at Qingdao, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. The latter was underway in the waters east of the Philippines and west of Guam from September 17 to October 1.
CNS Fujian: Shanghai
The Fujian, China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, remained pier-side at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard as of Wednesday, satellite imagery showed. The yet-to-be-commissioned warship departed from Shanghai on September 3 for sea trials and returned on September 21.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
JS Kaga: San Diego, California
The Japanese helicopter-carrying destroyer, which is currently undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier, arrived in San Diego on October 5. The Kaga will conduct flight tests with F-35B fighter jets off San Diego, including short-takeoff and vertical landing.
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