USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier has moved into disputed South China Sea.
Images indicated that it has navigated near China’s man-made islands.
Reports seem to suggest it sailed near Spratly Island chain.
japantimes.com provided further details.
It wrote, "asked about the images, the Reagan’s location and if it was meant to send a message
to China, a spokeswoman for the U.S. 7th Fleet declined to confirm the carrier’s location,
but said it was currently underway, “conducting routine operations.”
It further added," Cmdr.
Reann Mommsen said in an email, “Her underway is not in response to any specific events,”
China’s Defense Ministry stated that the warship the South China Sea “to flex muscles
and escalate regional militarization.”
“We are firmly opposed to that.
We urge the U.S. side to respect the security concerns of countries in the region and make
positive contributions to the peace and stability in the South China Sea,” ministry spokesman
Col. Ren Guoqiang said.
“The Chinese military will earnestly perform its duties and missions and firmly safeguard
national sovereignty and security.”
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why China is spooked by USS Ronald Reagan as it
moves into the South China Sea?
Let's get started
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USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz class supercarrier.
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers were designed to be improvements on previous U.S. aircraft
carriers, in particular, the Enterprise and Forrestal-class vessels
All 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers were constructed between 1968 and 2006 at Newport
News Shipbuilding Company, Virginia, in the largest dry-dock in the western hemisphere.
USS Ronald Reagan is the 9th ship of her class and was commissioned on 12 July 2003.
She is named in honor of Ronald W. Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to
1989.
Yokosuka, Japan is the homeport of USS Ronald Reagan.
USS Ronald Reagan is one of the largest vessels constructed.
It has a displacement of 100,000 tonnes, and an overall length of 332.8 m or 1,092 feet.
To give viewers a perspective, it is about 3 football fields long.
It 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.
USS Ronald Reagan being a Nimitz class carrier possesses a 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 and 12 miles
Close-in weapon (CIWS) duties are performed by Phalanx, & RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile.
Phalanx CIWS has a 4500 /min rate of fire.
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles have speed in excess of Mach 2.
USS Ronald Reagan can carry 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
aircraft.
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 aircraft has enough firepower to mount a credible offensive against any
Chinese misadventure.
In coming days, Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II will also be added.
The F-35 is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters.
The fifth-generation combat aircraft is designed to perform ground attack and air superiority
missions.
The F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the aircraft designed
to be operated from aircraft carriers.
USS Ronald Reagan doesn’t operate alone but is deployed with the "carrier strike group”.
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group includes the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers
USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Antietam (CG 54)
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers are equipped with a diverse array of weapons
for Anti Aircraft Warfare (AAW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW)
as well as have the ability to intercept ballistic missiles through Aegis Ballistic missile defense
system.
This class of cruiser has an overall length of 567 ft or 173 m and displacement of about
9,600 tons.
Ticonderoga class warship has a speed of 32+ knots (60+ km/h) and a range of 6000 nm or
11000 km.
Ticonderoga class cruiser has 2 61 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch System that can be equipped
with a choice of different weapons.
1. RIM-66M-5 Standard SM-2MR Block IIIB for Air Defense & Anti Ship role with a range of 103
miles or 167 km and speed of Mach 3.5
2. RIM-156A SM-2ER Block IV for Anti Aircraft & Anti Ship role with a range of 115 miles
or 185 km and speed of Mach 3.5
3. RIM-161 SM-3 for Ballistic missile defense with a range of 435 miles or 700 km and speed
of Mach 10.
It can also be used as an Anti-satellite weapon.
4. RIM-162A ESSM for anti-missile role with a range of 31 miles or 50 km and speed of Mach 4
It can be quad packed in single Mk 41 cell.
5. RIM-174A Standard ERAM or SM 6 for anti-air warfare with a range of 150 miles or 240 km
and speed Mach 3.5
6. BGM-109 Tomahawk for land attack.
It has a long range of up to 1550 miles or 2500 km with subsonic speed.
7. RUM-139A VL-ASROC anti-submarine missile with a range of 13 miles or 22 km
It also has 8 Harpoon Missile Launcher for Anti Ship role.
2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes are present launching Mk-46 or Mk-50 torpedoes
2 Sikorsky SH-60B helicopters are responsible for Anti Submarine Warfare.
Other weapons consist of long-range naval gun and variety of Close-In Weapon System.
The strike group also has Virginia class attack submarine but it is not clear if for this
mission any have been deployed.
The Virginia class submarines can defeat enemy submarines, clear sea mines, as well as score,
hits on land installing.
China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea have annoyed competing
claimants Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
United States, Japan, Australia, and India favor freedom of navigation as it is a very
important sea route with 5 trillion $ in trade, half of the global merchant shipping and 1/2
of world’s oil shipment pass through it.
The sea also has alleged 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas.
Chinese behavior in the region has prompted not only America but also other regional powers
to like India and Japan to add military muscle.
This could potentially lead to a joint push back against China in the coming days.