Two of the biggest brutes in the Navy — the aircraft carriers George Washington and Ronald Reagan — are wrapping up a rare and tricky exercise in San Diego Bay meant to maintain U.S. firepower in the politically fraught Indo-Pacific.
The Reagan is shifting a lot of its air assets to the Washington so that it can take the Reagan’s place as the Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier in Yokosuka, Japan.
Yokosuka is the home of the Navy’s largest overseas base. It’s also of great strategic value, giving the U.S. a place to stage and repair warships that are used to counter Chinese military activity. China has threatened to invade Taiwan, a move that could potentially bring China and the U.S. into direct military conflict.
In recent days, the Reagan has been transferring everything from aircraft tires to hazmat suits to the Washington, which is docked nearby. That work is almost finished.
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But the Reagan will soon transfer most of its aircraft to the Washington, during a switch that will be made at sea. It’s common for the two Nimitz-class ships to carry upward of 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.
“It’s almost staggering how much combat capability the two ships represent,” said Rear Adm. Gregory D. Newkirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group Five/Task Force 70, which controls the Reagan Carrier Strike Group.
A few hundred sailors also are expected to swap ships before the exercise is done. The ships carry upwards of 5,000 personnel when they’re on deployment.
Switching carriers at Yokosuka occurs roughly once every 10 years and is preceded by intense, exacting planning.
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And things don’t always go right. The Washington spent nearly six years at a Virginia shipyard undergoing a mid-life refueling and overhaul. Such work usually takes about four years. Things lasted longer due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, budget problems and other factors.
The Navy hopes to save money by having the two Nimitz-class carriers meet in San Diego, which isn’t either ship’s home port.
The Reagan is headed to a shipyard in the Pacific Northwest, where it will undergo a major overhaul, as the Washington heads for Yokosuka.
“San Diego is in the middle, a good meeting place,” Newkirk said.
