Navytown news: Two San Diego-based aircraft carriers flex their muscles in Philippine Sea (original) (raw)

In a show of force, the San Diego-based aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed in formation Wednesday in the Philippine Sea with ships from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The formation was part of a Multi-Large Deck Event, a force-readiness exercise meant to show that the two countries are committed to their partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific, the Navy said.

The operation comes amid rising tension with China, which has threatened to invade Taiwan and has suggested that it could interfere with the movement of commercial shipping in the South China Sea.

The Vinson and Roosevelt head up strike groups that collectively include nine other warships, including the San Diego-based cruisers USS Lake Erie and USS Princeton and the destroyers USS Sterett and USS Halsey. Another San Diego-based vessel, the hospital ship USNS Mercy, also is operating in the Indo-Pacific.

San Diego’s third aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, has been operating in Southern California waters recently.

Big bucks

The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) in San Diego contributed at least $3.14 billion to the local economy in fiscal 2022, according to a study released Tuesday by the San Diego Military Advisory Council and the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business.

NAVWAR is a sprawling 70.3-acre research center along Interstate 5 that develops and maintains communications systems and networks that span various military platforms. Regionally, it employs more than 5,300 people.

The Navy is working with a development team to remake the site, which is mostly composed of five-story buildings dating back to World War II.

Ship-shape

General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego has been awarded a $53.1 million contract by the Defense Department to perform technology upgrades on two destroyers — the USS Chung-Hoon, which is based in San Diego, and the USS James E. Williams, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia. The work will be done this year.

Originally Published: January 31, 2024 at 4:36 PM PST