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Plans to permanently retire the USS George Washington and bring the NavyÂ’s carrier-fleet total down to 10 are still being debated in ongoing budget deliberations despite reports the White House has scrapped any plans to reduce the carrier total.Some of the uncertainty centers around potential funding for the mid-life refueling for the USS George Washington in the upcoming 2015 budget submission, dollars which may still be uncertain or under review, Capitol Hill and Pentagon sources said.The uncertainty comes amid widespread discussion about whether the Defense DepartmentÂ’s upcoming 2015 budget proposal will remove funding for one aircraft carrier and bring the...

THE steel deck shakes as the steam powered catapult and the deafening roar of 40,000 pounds of jet thrust propels the 20-tonne Hornet strike fighter from zero to 260km/hr and skywards in just two seconds. On maximum afterburner, where fuel is injected into the engines downstream of the turbines creating jets of flame from the exhaust, a Hornet's two engines generate 20,700 pounds of thrust each and every launch from the carrier's flight deck feels and sounds like a mini volcanic eruption. Clouds of steam from the catapult enhances the effect as each sleek fighter plane is flung on its...

WASHINGTON — Could the USS George Washington be sunk by budget cuts? A report in Defense News on Thursday, citing anonymous sources, said naval officials are considering decommissioning the nuclear aircraft carrier decades before the end of its scheduled lifespan. That’s the second time this week the 25-year-old behemoth has been mentioned as a potential fiscal casualty. In budget analysis released Tuesday, officials from the Center for New American Security, a Washington, D.C. think tank with close ties to President Barack Obama, listed the early decommissioning of the ship as a way to save up to $7 billion over the...

The George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWCSG) entered the waters west of the Korean peninsula to participate in a combined military exercise with the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Nov. 28. The exercise is part of the series announced at the 2 + 2 meetings in July and is scheduled to run until Dec. 1. "While this exercise, which is defensive in nature, has been planned for some time, it underscores the importance of the ROK-U.S. alliance and our collective commitment to regional security and stability," said Rear Adm. Dan Cloyd, Commander, Task Force 70. The purpose of the four-day...

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group set off for Korean waters Wednesday after President Obama pledged America would stand "shoulder to shoulder" with South Korea and stage joint military exercises in response to what the White House branded a provocative, outrageous attack by North Korea on its neighbor.

South Korea and the United States have decided not to hold a joint naval drill, which was expected to take place in the Yellow Sea late this month, in consideration of geopolitical conditions ahead of an upcoming Seoul G-20 economic summit, defense sources said Sunday. "For the time being, there will be no joint aircraft carrier strike group exercise that South Korea and the U.S. considered holding late this month," a high-level government source said, requesting anonymity. "A training involving a U.S. aircraft carrier will not be held within this year." The allies initially planned to hold the exercise joined...

US Aircraft Carrier to Exercise in Yellow Sea Al Pessin | The Pentagon05 August 2010 The Pentagon announced Thursday that the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington will participate in planned exercises with South Korean forces in the Yellow Sea, between the Korean Peninsula and China. The announcement comes in spite of strong objections from China. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell made the announcement, saying the carrier's return to the Yellow Sea will be part of the series of U.S.-South Korean air and naval exercises that started late last month east of the peninsula. "They will be taking place in both...

– The United States and South Korea today announced a series of military exercises designed to send a strong, clear message to North Korea to stop its provocative and warlike acts. Video U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Republic of Korea National Defense Minister Kim Tae-young released a joint statement on the exercises following meetings here. The first in a series is a combined maritime and air readiness exercise named Invincible Spirit. About 8,000 U.S. and ROK military personnel will participate. The exercise is in response to the unprovoked attack on and sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan...

The nuclear-powered aircraft - carrier USS George Washington will make a port call in South Korea Wednesday, ahead of a joint naval drill in the East Sea next week. The 97,000-ton ship based in Yokosuka, Japan, will arrive at South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan with some 60 aircrafts, including F-18 Super Hornets, news agency Yonhap said. The report quoting the US military said, three destroyers from the US carrier's strike group, including the USS McCampbell and the USS John S McCain, will also arrive in South Korea on the same day. SKorea and the US have agreed to...

USS George Washington, the U.S. Navy's only permanently, forward-deployed aircraft carrier will visit the Korean port of Busan July 21-25, 2010, officials at U.S. Forces Korea announced today. In addition to USS George Washington, three destroyers from its strike group will also visit Korean ports. USS McCampbell and USS John S. McCain will visit Busan, and USS Lassen will visit Chinhae. "The U.S. Navy maintains a robust forward presence in the Asia-Pacific region and the people of the Republic of Korea are our good friends and allies," said George Washington commanding officer Capt. David Lausman. "Our presence here is a...

The United States may dispatch its high-tech F-22 Raptor stealth fighter to the Korean Peninsula for the upcoming joint military exercises with South Korea aimed at sending a warning message to North Korea for its continued provocative acts, a government source said Sunday. "Chances are high that the F-22 fighter jet will take part in the South Korea-U.S. joint drills to be held in the East Sea within July, in which a U.S. aircraft carrier will also participate," the source said on the condition of anonymity. "The U.S. is considering the F-22's participation in the training."In response to the March...

South Korea and the United States will push ahead with a joint naval exercise to warn North Korea against making attacks on the South, officials in Seoul and Washington said. But a defense ministry official told the JoongAng Ilbo that the two countries have arrived at a compromise to avoid angering China, which objected to the exercise being held in the Yellow Sea near its own territorial waters. “We will hold drills in both the Yellow Sea and the East Sea,” the official said. In addition, the U.S.S. George Washington, a U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, will participate in the exercise...

The U.S. government is apparently debating how to stage joint exercises with South Korea not only this month but all year round as a response to North Korea's torpedo attack on the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March. A diplomatic source in Washington on Tuesday said the U.S. is thinking a lot about these joint exercises "to deliver a clear message to the North." Following the planned joint drill this month, the two countries will further upgrade the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, which is staged in August every year, and may also possibly conduct various other kinds of drills....

The United States announced Wednesday that some of the naval exercises planned with South Korean forces will be held in the Yellow Sea, between the Korean Peninsula and China, in spite of Chinese government concerns about the plan. The Pentagon also confirmed for the first time that a U.S. aircraft carrier will be involved in the exercises, but would not say whether the huge ship will participate in the Yellow Sea part of the event. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said the United States respects and considers China's views, but will not be deterred from holding the exercises. They were...

South Korea's defense ministry said Tuesday it expects to hold joint naval exercises with the United States in July, though an exact date and location of the planned drills have yet to be set. Defense ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told reporters the two sides are still working on the details of the joint drills, which were originally scheduled for last month to deter any further North Korean provocations in the wake of Pyongyang's deadly sinking of a Seoul warship in March.Still, the date, location and methods have not been decided, but I think it's right to say the South Korea-U.S....

South Korea and the United States will stage large-scale anti-submarine drills in the Yellow Sea after the United Nations takes action against Pyongyang for sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan, Yonhap news agency said. "The joint drills will be carried out after the U N Security Council takes measure against North Korea," the agency quoting Col. Lee Bung Woo said. The United States’s 97,000-ton USS George Washington, an Aegis-equipped destroyer, and a nuclear-powered submarine are reportedly participating in the joint naval drills and a 4,500-ton destroyer, a submarine and F-15K fighter jets will take part from the South Korean...

US and Japanese naval forces have successfully completed the Undersea Warfare Exercise (USWEX) in the western Pacific Ocean. The American nuclear-powered super carrier, USS George Washington (CVN 73) participated in the exercise held from June 21 to 25. The exercise was conducted by elements from Commander, Battle Force 7th Fleet (CTF 70), Commander, Patrol & Reconnaissance Force, 7th Fleet (CTF 72), Commander, Submarine Force, 7th Fleet (CTF 74), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 and components from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). "This year during USWEX we continued to strengthen interoperability between the US Navy and...

Chinese media reports that beginning today the People’ Liberation Army (PLA) will hold six days of military exercises in the East China Sea, a message, analysts say, to the U.S. Navy not to steam its carrier battle groups too close to Chinese shores. While a Chinese military official said the drills are routine, observers say the anti-carrier exercise is intended to pressure the U.S. Navy not to hold joint exercises with the carrier USS George Washington and South Korean ships in the Yellow Sea. Respected China analyst Andrew Erickson says the live fire training aims to demonstrate China’s ability to...

South Korea and the United States are expected to fix dates for their joint naval exercises after assessing progress in Seoul's diplomatic efforts to rebuke North Korea at the U.N. Security Council, an official here said Monday. The two countries agreed last month to hold the drills after a multinational team of investigators blamed North Korea for torpedoing a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, in the Yellow Sea on March 26. The attack left 46 sailors dead. Seoul has referred the incident to the Security Council, urging its members to punish North Korea. "The dates for the joint exercises are...

South Korea and the United States have agreed to stage joint naval exercises later this month in the West Sea, an official at the Ministry of National Defense said Friday. “We’ve decided to stage joint naval drills in the final week of this month,” the official said. “U.S. warships belonging to the U.S. 7th Fleet, including an aircraft carrier, will join the drills as planned before.” The two governments were originally scheduled to hold naval exercises, including a joint anti-submarine drill, in early June in a show of force against possible North Korean provocation in waters near the sea border....