Why US Simultaneously Deploys Six Aircraft Carrier Groups
SputnikNews.com
08.06.2016
The United States Navy has deployed an additional four aircraft carriers on combat duty. As a result, the number of simultaneously deployed aircraft carriers has reached six for the first time since 2012, Defense News reported.
On June 1, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was sent from the US east coast to support the USS Harry Truman in the Mediterranean. On June 4, the USS Ronald Raegan was reportedly deployed from a naval base in Japan to the South China Sea. Two more flattops, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS George Washington, left their bases for training maneuvers.
In addition, the seventh aircraft carrier, the USS George Bush, will be deployed in the near future for patrolling.
Aircraft carriers are the main offensive force with the US Navy. On average, a US aircraft carrier can carry 30-40 F/A-18 Hornet jet fighters. The aircraft has a combat range of 800 kilometers.
Commenting on the situation, a representative of the Navy underscored that the deployment of the aircraft carriers is not a response to any challenge.
“Usually, 50 percent of the US warships are on the sea. This is why the recent deployment of six of the total nine aircraft carriers is a routine practice. This is the strategy the US has used for a long time – maintaining naval presence across the world,” Konstantin Sivkov, head of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, told Svobodnaya Pressa.
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