Aircraft carriers from both China and the U.S. were operating in the Pacific Ocean this week. One of the six West Coast-based American aircraft carriers visited Guam as it was on the way home following a deployment in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, a Chinese aircraft carrier continued its deployment in the wider Pacific Ocean. Speculation on social media suggested that it was supporting the test launch of China’s intercontinental ballistic missile, which landed in the Southern Pacific Ocean.
An aircraft carrier sent by Italy, a European member of NATO, was heading to the Indian Ocean following an exercise and three ports of call in the contested South China Sea.
Newsweek‘s weekly update maps aircraft carrier movements in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. As of September 27, the locations of at least nine aircraft carriers were publicly available via military disclosures or open-source satellite imagery. The United States has the world’s largest aircraft carrier fleet with 11 in service. China ranks second with three ships.
U.S. Navy
USS Theodore Roosevelt: Western Pacific Ocean
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Richard Tinker/U.S. Navy
The Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Guam on Wednesday for a visit to bring on stores and equipment. It departed the U.S. island territory in the Western Pacific Ocean the following day. During the brief visit, the ship onloaded more than 700 pallets of parts, food and mail.
In January, the California-based aircraft carrier departed from its home port at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego for a scheduled Western Pacific Ocean deployment. It was diverted to the Middle East on July 12 and operated in the region until September 12.
Meanwhile, USS Abraham Lincoln, a second U.S. aircraft carrier that redeployed from the Western Pacific Ocean and arrived in the Middle East on August 21, remained on station in the region. It left its home port at Naval Air Station North Island in July.
USS Ronald Reagan: Bremerton, Washington
The Ronald Reagan remained pier-side at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, since its arrival on August 13. Official U.S. Navy photos showed sailors were prepared for a counter-measure washdown in the hangar bay onboard the aircraft carrier on Wednesday.
The warship was previously stationed at the Yokosuka naval base in Japan. It is being prepared for an estimated 17-month maintenance program scheduled to begin in March 2025 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton.
USS Carl Vinson: San Diego, California
Sailors conducted daily operations onboard on Wednesday as the Carl Vinson remained pier-side at Naval Air Station North Island. It returned to its home port from Hawaii on August 15 and was underway on August 17 for a one-day friends and family day cruise.
USS Nimitz and USS George Washington: Eastern Pacific Ocean
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Timothy Meyer/U.S. Navy
The Nimitz departed from Naval Air Station North Island on September 18. It conducted flight operations the following day as part of Tailored Ship’s Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem (TSTA/FEP), which prepared the ship and crew for full integration as a carrier strike group through a wide range of mission-critical operations.
The George Washington departed from Naval Air Station North Island on Monday and remained underway as of Thursday. It was in preparation for deployment to Yokosuka this fall as the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier, replacing the Ronald Reagan.
People’s Liberation Army Navy
CNS Liaoning: Philippine Sea
China’s first operational aircraft carrier, the Soviet-built Liaoning, transited from the East China Sea to the Philippine Sea on September 18, passing through two Japanese islands in the country’s southwestern waters, the Japanese defense ministry reported previously.
Japan’s defense ministry
It continued to operate and conduct flight operations in the vast area of ocean between the Philippines and Okinotorishima, an atoll administered by Japan which is the southernmost part of the country, as of Thursday, the Japanese defense ministry announced on Friday.
Civil aviation notifications issued before Wednesday’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile suggested it was fired from Hainan, a southern Chinese island province. Its dummy warhead splashed down 7,400 miles away, north of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
Before the latest Japanese defense ministry’s report, some Chinese netizens speculated the Liaoning would be heading to the warhead’s splash zone.
CNS Shandong: Sanya, Hainan
The Chinese military reported on Friday that the Shandong, which is the country’s first domestically built aircraft carrier and the second in service, has returned to a naval base following days of combat training in the South China Sea and the Western Pacific Ocean. The ship is homeported at Sanya naval base on Hainan Island.
CNS Fujian: Shanghai
Allegedly an image showing the PLANS-18 „Fujian“ returning home from her 4th sea trial.
Looks as if the KJ-600 mock-up is visible in front of the island and I cannot wait to see the deck if there are tire-marks.
(Image via @Oneninety from Weibo) pic.twitter.com/gTjoJB3uQ8
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) September 21, 2024
The Fujian, the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in China, returned to Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard on September 21. The yet-to-be-commissioned warship departed from Shanghai on September 3 for sea trials.
Italian Navy
ITS Cavour: Strait of Malacca
The Cavour left Singapore on Monday and headed its next stop in India, the U.S. Naval Institute-run USNI News reported on Thursday. The aircraft carrier was operating in the South China Sea previously, including an exercise with the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force as well as visits to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore.
