USS George Washington destined for Japan to replace USS Ronald Reagan, report says

[Boats]

USS George Washington destined for Japan to replace USS Ronald Reagan, report says
By: Alex Wilson - Stars & Stripes News 03-03-23\
Re: https://www.stripes.com/branches/nav...53f6-296839051

1st Photo link: https://www.stripes.com/incoming/trj...TONphoto01.jpg
An F-35C Lightning II stealth fighter waits to launch from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 23, 2016. (Brenton Poyser/U.S. Navy)

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The aircraft carrier USS George Washington is expected in two years to return to Japan, its base of operations until eight years ago when it was replaced by the USS Ronald Reagan, according to a Japanese news agency.

Preparations are underway to replace the Ronald Reagan, which operates from the 7th Fleet homeport at Yokosuka, Nikkei Asia said Wednesday in a report that cited U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. Brian Cunningham. Additional details are not available until “proper coordination is complete,” the report said.

Cunningham acknowledged Stars and Stripes' request for information Friday but did not respond further that day. A 7th Fleet spokesman had referred questions to Pacific Fleet on Thursday.

The George Washington is expected in Yokosuka by 2025, Nikkei reported.

The aircraft carrier, commissioned in July 1992, is undergoing mid-life nuclear refueling and maintenance at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia; it was homeported at Yokosuka from 2008 to 2015.

The carrier’s refit began in 2017 and was expected to last four years but has been significantly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other setbacks.

2nd Photo link: https://www.stripes.com/incoming/i5z...TONphoto02.jpg
The U.S. Navy and Boeing test the MQ-25 Stingray, an aerial refueling drone, at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Nov. 11, 2021. (Samantha Jenkins/U.S. Navy)

Those improvements will permit the carrier to embark the MQ-25A Stingray, a 50-foot drone that can refuel other aircraft in flight and extend the carrier air wing’s range, Nikkei reported.

The Stingray can fly 500 nautical miles and deliver up to 16,000 pounds of fuel mid-air to F-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and F-35C Lightning IIs, according to its manufacturer Boeing’s website.

The drone is the world’s first “operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft” and a “critical part of the future” for carrier strike groups and air wings, according to U.S. Naval Air Systems Command.

The George Washington’s 2008 arrival in Yokosuka was preceded several months by more than 240 Navy families.

When the Ronald Reagan arrived to replace the George Washington in 2015, approximately two-thirds of the ships’ respective crews transferred between them.

The Ronald Reagan will have spent almost 10 years in Yokosuka by 2025, nearly the Navy limit for ships deployed overseas.

Congress set the 10-year limit in the fiscal 2019 Defense Department budget following the back-to-back collisions in 2017 of the destroyers USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald, both based at Yokosuka more than a decade when they separately collided with commercial vessels.

About this writer: Alex Wilson covers the U.S. Navy and other services from Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. Originally from Knoxville, Tenn., he holds a journalism degree from the University of North Florida. He previously covered crime and the military in Key West, Fla., and business in Jacksonville, Fla.
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Personal note: These vessels are all scheduled for rotation at one time or another.
Wear & Tear from long durations take a toll on the entire ships at sea. They also
many times are dry-docked to repair props & shafts and go through sand
blasting intervals of the barnacles that adhere to the hauls and cause drag
and rust.
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Once dry docked the entire vessel goes through a complete inspection and
areas of wear and tear are repaired. Carrier's sustain several area of required
maintenance. The engineer's have to replace bearings - seals and teardowns
can take time and also must be replaced. Catch wires on the flight deck
are also replaced as are many other items that sustain fatigue from use.
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Bedding is replace as well and all internal components are checked and
rechecked. The teardowns take months as well as month to reinstall
and have to be tested. Time consuming you bet but if not done right
it could cause a disaster of which could sink the vessel with all hands.
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All aircraft are removed and are given a full inspection of any wear and
tear from service. Void's and fuel tanks are inspected it's something I've
been through a couple of times. Sandblasting the haul - making repairs.
If its broke its replaced. All new bedding for the entire shipmates and
officers. Until you've done one you would be amazed. The old Bon Homme
was lost during repairs and as we saw that fire was intense and very
damning to the ship - and to a point - it could no longer be salvage and
was therefore scrapped. A several billion dollar loss of a capital ship.
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How dangerous is a carrier (see and read below):
[Note: While the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal is on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, a rocket from an F-4 Phantom II is accidentally triggered and shoots across the carrier’s flight deck. The rocket causes a series of explosions that rock the ship. Fire engulfs one end of the flight deck and spreads below decks. All told, 134 crew members are killed and 62 are injured. Dozens of aircraft are damaged or destroyed. This is one of three major accidental fires that occur on U.S. aircraft carriers during the war.
1 Photo link: https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/1966-...SS-Forrestal/]