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The US Navy is preparing one of the newest aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford, for the upcoming major exercises. To do this, all aviation is deployed on the ship. For the first time, the Navy Times writes, the entire aircraft carrier wing was loaded onto the ship in full.
The COMPTUEX exercises are designed to assess the ability of an aircraft carrier strike group to conduct combat operations at sea and strike at an enemy on land through joint planning and execution of various training scenarios. This was stated by the representative of the 2nd Fleet, Lieutenant Commander Christy Johnson, in an interview with Insider.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier Strike Group includes the 8th Aviation Wing and 2 US Navy destroyers USS McFaul and USS Thomas Hudner. The aircraft carrier itself is the first in its class and cost about $ 13 billion. It was launched in 2013, commissioned for the first time in 2017, and deployed as part of an aircraft carrier strike group for the first time in 2022.
It is known that the aircraft carrier is equipped with advanced special equipment, including electromagnetic catapults. During the short-term deployment of the aircraft carrier in 2022, up to 80% of the air wing was loaded on board, and now all available aircraft, including fighters, long-range radar detection aircraft and helicopters, will be loaded on the aircraft carrier.
According to Rear Admiral Greg Huffman, commander of the 12th Carrier Strike Group, the aircraft carrier will demonstrate to the world what modern high-tech naval combat operations and integrated NATO interoperability look like. It is expected that the deployment of the aircraft carrier will take place at the end of 2023, as a number of issues, including technical ones, have not yet been resolved.
It should be noted that the US Navy pays special attention to aircraft carriers, considering them, along with submarines, the basis of its naval power, represented in different parts of the world. First of all, aircraft carriers are considered as the most important participant in the confrontation with China in the Asia-Pacific region.
