.June 01, 2013
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier stationed at the Yokosuka Naval Base will be replaced by a similar Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in 2015, sources said May 31.
The leading candidate is the USS Ronald Reagan, which took part in “Operation Tomodachi,” the U.S. forces’ disaster relief activities in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The carrier served as an offshore base in waters off the coast of the Tohoku region.
The United States may feel the Japanese will have a feeling of friendliness toward the aircraft carrier if it is stationed in Yokosuka.
But deployment of the new vessel to Japan will also show the U.S. intention to underline its strong commitment to the Japan-U.S. alliance and American presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Ronald Reagan, which was commissioned in 2003, is ninth in its class, or second newest. It is currently based in San Diego.
The U.S. Navy currently has 10 aircraft carriers, all of which are nuclear-powered.
All of the U.S. Navy’s current aircraft carriers were designed with a lifespan of about 50 years. By the time of decommissioning, each ship must undergo three years of large-scale renovations, including the replacement of the nuclear fuel rods in their two reactors.
The George Washington, which was commissioned in 1992, and was deployed to Yokosuka in 2008, will have to return to the U.S. mainland for the renovations. Depending on the renovation schedule, the replacement of the George Washington could be delayed to 2016.
The Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture is the U.S. Navy’s only overseas base that hosts an aircraft carrier. The carrier is a core vessel of the U.S. Seventh Fleet that is in charge of the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
The Nimitz-class carrier accommodates about 5,000 crew members, including those who board planes stationed on the vessel.
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