Free Republic

X-47B Accomplishes First Ever Carrier Touch and Go aboard CVN 77 Story Number: NNS130517-15Release Date: 5/17/2013 5:11:00 PM By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brandon Vinson, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Public Affairs USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH, At Sea (NNS) -- The Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has begun touch and go landing operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) May 17. For UCAS-D, this represents the most significant technology maturation of the program. Ship relative navigation and precision touchdown of the X-47B are critical technology elements for all future Unmanned Carrier...

NORFOLK A new era in naval aviation is set to launch from the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush today, if all goes according to plan. For the first time ever, the Navy plans to catapult an unmanned aerial vehicle off a carrier flight deck, marking a strategic technological shift in naval aviation. The launch of the prototype X-47B from the Bush, steaming off the Virginia coast, follows months of shore-based launch tests at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. The objective: to show that automated aircraft can play an active role in air warfare operations at sea. "The addition...

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  

Landing a V-22 Osprey helicopter-style on the sprawling flight deck of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush was a snap, says Marine Corps test pilot Capt. Dan McKinney. With Lt. Col. David Weinstein, McKinney did it a dozen times on March 20 – six landings in daylight, six at night. After their first two touchdowns, sailors perched in the carrier's superstructure to watch the helicopter-airplane hybrid Osprey's first-ever carrier qualification landings, conducted off the coast of North Carolina, started giving the pilots "a lot of thumbs-up." Marine leaders hope the Osprey's "carrier quals," scheduled to continue in May...

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...

YouTube video.A stagehand working on the stage set up for President Obama's appearance in Los Angeles was told to go home when he refused to remove his hat and shirt honoring the aircraft carrier named USS George H. W. Bush. His son is in the US Navy and serves on the ship.Link to the USS George H.W. Bush website

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), the Navy's 10th and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, received a visit from its namesake, former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, while underway July 14. Bush and Barbara were escorted on board by Adm. J.C. Harvey, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. During his two-day visit to the aircraft carrier, Bush toured the ship, observing day-to-day operations and spending time with the crew, as well as taking part in a reenlistment ceremony for nearly 60 Sailors, which he said was an honor. "I am proud of every man and woman on...

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) successfully fired two Evolved NATO Sea Sparrow missiles and two Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) for the first time, to conclude its first Combat Systems Ship's Qualification Trials (CSSQT), June 23. CSSQT is part of the series of qualifications and certifications the aircraft carrier must undergo in preparation for her upcoming maiden deployment. According to Combat Systems Officer, Cmdr. John B. Vliet, CSSQT is a combined effort between the Combat Systems, Operations and Weapons departments to test the aircraft carrier's self-defense systems. "It's an end-to-end testing of the Combat Systems Suite, to include tactics, techniques,...

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) departed Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., for sea trials Jan. 27 after a seven-month maintenance period. During Sea Trials, the ship's electronics, communication, navigation and other combat systems that were built or modified in the shipyard will be tested. In addition, an inspection of the ship's catapults and jet blast deflectors will be conducted, as well as inspections of the ship's berthing spaces, demonstrations of search and rescue equipment firefighting capabilities, and an evaluation of food service facilities to determine the ship's overall mission readiness. Bush's sea trials comes after...

~ USS GEORGE HW BUSH (CVN 77) ~ PRE-COMMISSIONING 090108-N-7656T-023 NORFOLK, Va. (Jan. 8, 2009) Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush, walk across the hanger bay of the aircraft carrier Pre-commissioning Unit George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) at Naval Station Norfolk. Bush, the ship's namesake, is aboard to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the official opening of the George H.W. Bush Tribute Room aboard the carrier. George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) will be commissioned Jan. 10 at Naval Station Norfolk. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Tackitt/Released) Canteen Mission...

Former President Bush Visits Namesake Aircraft Carrier Story Number: NNS090527-04 Release Date: 5/27/2009 10:50:00 AM From USS George H.W. Bush Public Affairs USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) namesake -- former President George H.W. Bush -- and the ship's sponsor visited the Navy's newest aircraft carrier May 26-27 to observe flight operations during the ship's underway period in the Atlantic Ocean. "It is the greatest honor of my life to be the [ship's] sponsor, so thank you for letting me have that opportunity," said Doro Bush Koch, the former president's daughter...

090519-N-7656T-124 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 19, 2009) An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 passes by the landing signal officer on the way to making the first arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). George H.W. Bush is the tenth and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and is underway off the coast of Virginia conducting flight deck certification. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Tackitt/Released) 090519-N-6125G-116 ATLANTIC OCEAN (May 19, 2009) An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 makes the first...

The Navy took delivery of its newest aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), from Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. George H.W. Bush is the 10th and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) successfully completed acceptance sea trials April 7-9 off the Virginia Capes and is in final preparation for delivery. Acceptance sea trials are the final test of the ship's readiness to begin fleet service. Navy representatives from the U.S. Navy Board of Inspection and Survey tested and evaluated the ship's systems and performance. Acceptance trials will formally conclude April 10. George H.W. Bush is the nation's 10th, and final, Nimitz-class carrier. The ship is designed to carry all current and future aircraft in its embarked air wing until the completion of her...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2009 – With traditional pomp and circumstance and its namesake on hand, the last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, was commissioned in Norfolk, Va., today. “So what do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about everything he has ever needed?” President George W. Bush, son of former President George H.W. Bush, joked during the ceremony. “Well, an aircraft carrier.” The story of the USS George H.W. Bush, also known as CVN 77, begins well before its keel-laying in September 2003. It began in the early days of World War...

Former President George H. W. Bush will be honored for his military career when the U.S. Navy commissions its new aircraft carrier Saturday at Naval Station Norfolk. The president's son, President Bush, will speak as the Navy commissions the 1,092-foot CVN-77, which will be named the USS George H.W. Bush. "The president is honored to participate in the commissioning of the USS George H.W. Bush both as the commander in chief and as a proud son," White House spokesman Carlton F. Carroll told The Washington Times. On Friday, workers finished the last details on the nuclear-powered carrier, which towers 20...

Tune in now, it's in the middle of the ceremony at this time.

Today President Bush visited privately with the White House Communication Agency and the White House Transportation Agency, and later met with the men and women stationed at Bolling Air Force Base, where he thanked them for their service over the past eight years. Tomorrow, President & Mrs. Bush will attend the commissioning ceremony of the USS George H. W. Bush in Norfolk, Virginia, along with former President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush. It was just a little over two years ago that the aircraft carrier—the 10th and final of the Nimitz class—was christened by the former President’s...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Former President George H.W. Bush almost had to wait a little longer to see an aircraft carrier bear his name. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, speaking at a leadership forum with Bush at Texas A&M University on Friday, said he nearly chose a different namesake for the nuclear-powered USS George H.W. Bush christened last week in Virginia. The $6 billion CVN 77 is the last of the Nimitz-class carriers. England, whose duty included naming new carriers in his former position as secretary of the Navy, told the crowd he was torn over whether to wait for...