US Deploys Third Aircraft Carrier To Western Pacific Ahead Of Trump’s Visit
Ahead of Trump’s Asian tour, which in addition to a trip to Beijing also includes a visit to the Korean Peninsula and perhaps a surprise visit to the DMZ, the US navy is bringing out the big guns, and has deployed a third nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Nimitz-class USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group which on October 23, to the Western Pacific Ocean amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea the US Navy announced in a statement.
On Monday, the carrier strike group entered the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet area, which is the Navy’s biggest forward-deployed fleet, with its area of operations stretching from the International Date Line to the India-Pakistan border, and from the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south.
The USS Roosevelt strike group has arrived in the west Pacific
The 100,000-ton warship and its strike group joins two other carriers located in the 7th Fleet area amid fears of war with North Korea: in addition, the U.S. Navy announced that the USS Nimitz strike group consisting of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Howard, USS Shoup, USS Pinckney, USS Kidd, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton returned to the 7th Fleet area of operations on October 25 following a deployment to the Persian Gulf.
While it is unclear if the final rendezvous of the three ships is North Korea, it is still largely unprecedented to allocate three aircraft carriers in the region at one time, and is a huge gathering of US sea power according to naval experts. Ultimately, the USS Theodore Roosevelt is expected to make its way to the Persian Gulf to replace the USS Nimitz. The U.S. Navy has not announced any specific missions for the two carriers.
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