[News Terms] 'Floating Military Base'... 'Calvinson Ham' Arrives in Busan

On the 21st, the USS Carl Vinson (CVN) docked at Busan Naval Base. It has been about a month since a U.S. aircraft carrier last publicly entered Busan, following the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on the 12th of last month.

The USS Carl Vinson visited South Korea for the first time in six years since 2017. This visit was made to strengthen the combined defense posture between South Korea and the U.S. in response to nuclear and missile threats.

The USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier belonging to the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group One, and is the third Nimitz-class aircraft carrier following the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69).

Launched in 1980 and commissioned in March 1982, it is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2032. It was named after Carl Vinson, a U.S. Congressman from Georgia who served for over 50 years and greatly contributed to the development of the U.S. Navy. Its callsign is "Gold Eagle."

The U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group 1 aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN) docked at Busan Naval Base on the 21st to strengthen the combined defense posture between South Korea and the United States in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Measuring 333 meters in length, 77 meters in width, and 74 meters in height, its deck area is three times the size of a soccer field, and its height is equivalent to a 24-story building. Its full load displacement is 93,400 tons. It carries a naval air wing comparable to the entire air force strength of many countries, including FA-18 Super Hornet fighters, E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft, S-3A anti-submarine aircraft, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, and MH-60S Seahawk maritime operation helicopters.

With about 6,000 crew members and over 80 embarked aircraft, it can operate at speeds exceeding 30 knots. The supplied provisions can sustain the entire crew with normal meals for 70 days. It has 11 military doctors, 53 hospital beds, and three chapels, making its nickname "floating military base" well deserved.

The U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group 1 aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN) is being towed to dock at Busan Naval Base on the 21st.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The USS Carl Vinson serves as the flagship of Carrier Strike Group One (CSG 1), which is part of the U.S. Navy's Third Fleet based at Naval Base San Diego, California. CSG 1 includes the USS Carl Vinson as the flagship, along with the cruiser USS Princeton, and destroyers USS Hopper and USS Kidd. Typically, a carrier strike group consists of a carrier battle group for escorting the aircraft carrier, including three to four Aegis-equipped warships and air defense destroyers, two or more attack nuclear submarines, and separate logistics support ships.

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