[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] US Aircraft Carrier Returns... 'Carl Vinson' Arrives at Busan Port

North Korea's Launch of Military Reconnaissance Satellite Increases Likelihood of Joint Military Exercises

The US Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) arrived in Busan on the 21st. This is the first visit of the Carl Vinson to South Korea in six years since 2017.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the military on the 21st, the USS Carl Vinson completed the annual multilateral joint maritime exercise (ANNUALEX) conducted with the navies of Australia, Canada, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Philippine Sea since the 11th, and docked at the South Korean Navy's Busan operational base that morning.

This is the first time in about a month since the USS Ronald Reagan, on April 12, that a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has visited South Korea. The Carl Vinson is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, measuring 333 meters in length and 76.4 meters in width. It is known to carry Super Hornet fighter jets (F/A-18), Hawkeye early warning aircraft (E-2C), and anti-submarine aircraft (S-3A). Among the US military's 5th generation multirole stealth fighters, the F-35 Lightning II, the Navy variant C model (F-35C) was first deployed as the main carrier-based aircraft on a US carrier in August 2021. The South Korean military operates the F-35A, the Air Force variant developed by Lockheed Martin, and the F-35B, the Marine Corps variant, is currently rotationally deployed at US bases in Japan. The Carl Vinson carrier strike group is composed of cruisers such as the USS Princeton and destroyers including the USS Hopper and USS Kidd.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The frequent deployment of US carriers to the Korean Peninsula is interpreted as an intention to demonstrate the US's extended deterrence capability in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Inside and outside the military, there are also speculations that if North Korea launches a military reconnaissance satellite, joint exercises could be conducted, as the Carl Vinson recently conducted live operational training. Additionally, there is a high possibility that other US strategic assets, such as strategic bombers, will be deployed to the Korean Peninsula.

A military official said, "We are monitoring related developments closely, as North Korea may attempt to launch a reconnaissance satellite as early as this week."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.