The United States has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to the disputed waters
of the South China Sea as part of maritime "routine operations." But in the current scenario,
the deployment can be called anything but routine.
China has a long history of maritime disputes with its South China Sea neighbors.
It claims almost all of the South China Sea, including islands more than 800 miles (~1300
km) from the Chinese mainland, despite objections from neighbors such as the Philippines, Malaysia,
Brunei and Vietnam.
Beijing has also created artificial islands in the area, outfitting some of them with
military features. According to the US, China has reclaimed more than 3,000 acres in the
Spratly Islands since 2014.
Though the US takes no position on the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, its warships
have conducted routine "freedom of navigation" operations near the reclaimed islands, eliciting
warnings from Beijing.
Patrols by USS Carl Vinson, is seen by military experts as a way of sending direct message
to China and reassuring the US allies.
In this video, we will analyze HOW POWERFUL USS CARL VINSON IS, AND WHY CHINA FEARS IT?
So, let us get into the details.
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) is the third United States Navy Nimitz-class super carrier and
is named after Carl Vinson, a Congressman from Georgia, in recognition of his contributions
to the US Navy. The ship was launched in 1980, and was commissioned on 13 March 1982.
It has been deployed in Operation Desert Strike, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Southern
Watch, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Notably the body of Osama bin Laden was buried
at sea in 2011 from the deck of the Carl Vinson.
USS Carl Vinson being a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, was designed to be improvements on
previous U.S. aircraft carriers, in particular the Enterprise and Forrestal-class.
All 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers including
Carl Vinson were constructed between 1968 and 2006 at Newport News Shipbuilding Company,
Virginia, in the largest dry-dock in the western hemisphere.
These are some of the largest vessels constructed. USS Carl Vinson has a displacement of 100,000 tonnes
and overall length of 332.8 m (1,092 feet). To give viewers a perspective, it is
about 3 football fields long.
USS Carl Vinson is powered by two A4W nuclear reactors, kept in separate compartments.
These power 4 propeller shafts and can produce a maximum speed of over 30 knots or 56 km/h.
As a result of the use of nuclear power, the ship is capable of operating continuously
for over 20 years without refueling, and is predicted to have a service life of over 50 years.
Practically it has unlimited range & endurance.
The Vinson carries a flight group of more than 60 aircraft, including F-18 jet fighters.
These are twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable 4th generation multirole fighter
aircrafts. They have a payload of 7700 kg (17000 lbs),
and can carry ground attack weapons as well as air-to-air missiles.
The versatility of the aircraft can be gauged from the fact that on the first day of Operation
Desert Storm, two F 18, each carrying four 2,000 lb. bombs, shot down two Iraqi Migs
and then proceeded to deliver their bombs on target.
The flotilla of aircrafts has enough firepower to mount a credible offensive against any
Chinese misadventure.
Nimitz class possesses multitude of different radars including electronically scanned array
3D radars. It is equipped with 16 to 24 RIM-7 Sea Sparrow
or NATO Sea Sparrow missiles. RIM-7 Sea Sparrow is a US ship-borne short-range anti-aircraft
and anti-missile weapon system, primarily intended for defense against anti-ship missiles.
Its range is 19 km.
Close in weapon (CIWS) duties are performed by Phalanx, & RIM-116 Rolling Airframe missile.
Phalanx C I WS has a 4500 /min rate of fire. RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles have speed
in excess of 2 Mach.
USS Carl Vinson is not alone, but it leads the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group One.
It is accompanied by other vessels including an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer,
the USS Wayne E Meyer (DDG 108). Arleigh Burke class is considered to be one of the most
potent destroyer in the world.
The Carl Vinson strike group’s arrival in the South China Sea brings the United States’
carrier presence in the Asia-Pacific up to 2 groups. The USS Ronald Reagan is permanently
forward deployed with the U S Seventh Fleet at Yokosuka, Japan.
This move seems to have made the Chinese nervous.
According to Reuters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily news
briefing, “China always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight all littoral
countries enjoy under international law,”
Geng added further, “But we are consistently opposed to relevant countries threatening
and damaging the sovereignty and security of littoral countries under the flag of freedom
of navigation and overflight.”
Chinese media, which is often seen as the mouthpiece of the government, reacted quickly.
An opinion article in China's state-sanctioned Global Times declared that the deployment
of the Vinson showed that the US wants to "create provocations and drive a wedge" between
China and other countries party to the South China Sea.
The U.S. carrier strike group arrives in the South China Sea amid growing expectations
that the Trump administration will intensify U.S. operations in the area. It is clear that
China is perturbed by USS Carl Vinson.