USS Kitty Hawk and JMSDF conduct massive excersise

Originally Posted by bd popeye

“This exercise is important because we need to know that our Japanese allies are familiar with how the U.S. performs tactical operations at sea,” said Operations Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Marlon Patterson, another of Kitty Hawk’s air intercept controllers. “We’ve spent a lot of time working with the JMSDF already, so it should be a great success.”

The US Navy is keeping itself and its allies honed to a sharp, keen edge.

That would be a great exercise to watch or take part in.

Originally Posted by Jeff Head

The US Navy is keeping itself and its allies honed to a sharp, keen edge.

That would be a great exercise to watch or take part in.

My son has trained a lot of JMSDF sonar techs. He said they are squared away. It would be very interesting to observe the excersies. They are conducted annualy. I just don't remember so many JMSDF ships being involved.

Check out this pic of DESRON 15 of the CV-63 CSG departing Yokosuka Japan. No "P S" here fellas! That's the real deal!!!

49 JMSDF ships!!!! They must have sortied their entire navy for this exercise. Any airforce units involved or is this a strictly navy business?

Originally Posted by bd popeye

My son has trained a lot of JMSDF sonar techs. He said they are squared away. It would be very interesting to observe the excersies. They are conducted annualy. I just don't remember so many JMSDF ships being involved.

Check out this pic of DESRON 15 of the CV-63 CSG departing Yokosuka Japan. No "P S" here fellas! That's the real deal!!!

Thanks for the info popeye. And the picture. Gotta love that "armed to the teeth" Ticonderoga out front.

When they say they are doing all aspects of warfare, I know this is going to be a bigger than usual exercise. I would love to be a part of it.

Originally Posted by IDonT

49 JMSDF ships!!!! They must have sortied their entire navy for this exercise. Any airforce units involved or is this a strictly navy business?

I'm sure the Air Forces of both nations are involved. I could not find a link. I know that the USN and USAF work hand in hand in Japan and worldwide. As for the number of JMSDF ships ..I think they are making a show of force to let other Asian nations show they are vigilant and have some real good friends.

Sea Dog I love that pic..I got real happy when I saw that. While others make "Photo Shop" pictures of warships the US Navy has the real deal. Armed to the teeth. Ready, able and vigilant. USN pictures are always on dispaly for the world to see. Afterall the have nothing to hide. Check out the USN photo page..it is endless. Isn't freedom great?

http://www.news.navy.mil/view_galleries.asp

Here's a better picture in this link of DESRON 15. My server won't let me use image posting sites..

http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=29924

Originally Posted by IDonT

49 JMSDF ships!!!! They must have sortied their entire navy for this exercise. Any airforce units involved or is this a strictly navy business?

49 ships is not alot for the japanese navy. its only really one eighth of the "jmsdf". or better put "jmf". 49 ships is a larger force than the plan has in modern warships. so waht was the objective of these exercises?

i really wish there was some video or clips from this exercise. fleets this large havnt been seen since WW2.

Here is another pic

Sorry the pic was too big....sorry mods.

49 ships is a larger force than the plan has in modern warships. so waht was the objective of these exercises?

Well the text of the article says the excersises are being conducted to futher the military partnership between the US and Japan. and to enhance military-to-military relationships and is designed to improve both naval forces’ capability for coordinated and bilateral operations in defense of Japan. Defend Japan! from what?

I know many years(32)ago when I was aboard the USS Midway which was stationed in Japan we had many excersies with the JMSDF. It was no where near the force it is today. In fact their ships were tiny. Mostly coastal type ships.

Question. The JMSDF put 49 modern ships to sea at once. How many ships could the PLAN realisticly put to sea at once of any type?

IDon't...Dude... I never post those USN pictures. They are to damn big! Check out that detail of those planes on the flight deck of CV-63....

right now, 167-171, 112-113 and 521-528, 564-567.
so, that's 7 destroyers of 52, 52B, 52C and 51B
and 14 frigates of 054 and 053H3

Do FACs and LSTs count?

anyhow, nowhere near as much.

Originally Posted by tphuang

right now, 167-171, 112-113 and 521-528, 564-567.
so, that's 7 destroyers of 52, 52B, 52C and 51B
and 14 frigates of 054 and 053H3

Do FACs and LSTs count?

anyhow, nowhere near as much.

I think you can also add fleet support ships into those numbers as well. I think around 10 percent of the 49 ships the JMSDF are fielding are ammo ships, fuel ships, etc.

Here's some more info on the excersise from 7th fleet

http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2005/November/5.htm

Seventh Fleet units join JMSDF forces for ANNUALEX 17G

U.S. Seventh Fleet public affairs

Posted: 11/9/2005

YOKOSUKA, Japan - The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the U.S. Navy will conduct a large, bilateral maritime exercise Nov. 9-18 in waters and airspace around Japan.

The exercise, called ANNUALEX 17G, is designed to improve both naval forces' capabilities for coordinated and bilateral operations in the defense of Japan. In particular, ANNUALEX will focus on enhancing military-to-military relationships, improving command and control, air, undersea and surface warfare.

U.S. Navy units from Battle Force Seventh Fleet taking part in the exercise with JMSDF units include elements operating from both Naval Air Facility Atsugi and Fleet Activities Yokosuka. Those units include Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), the guided-missile cruisers USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and USS Cowpens (CG 63), the guided-missile destroyers USS John S McCain (DDG 56), USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Stethem (DDG 63), USS Lassen (DDG 82), and USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and the frigates USS Vandegrift (FFG 48) and USS Gary (FFG 51).

Additionally, the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii-based attack submarines USS Pasadena (SSN 752) and USS Santa Fe (SSN 763) will participate. The fleet oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193), fleet ammunition ship USNS Flint (T-AE 32), and the survey ship USNS Victorious, operated by the Military Sealift Command, will also participate during the exercise. Maritime patrol aircraft under the control of Commander, Task Force (CTF) 72 will participate as well.

Rear Adm. Douglas McClain, Commander, Battle Force Seventh Fleet, will be the officer commanding all U.S. naval forces in the exercise.

ANNUALEX 17G is one in a continuing series of annual exercises. ANNUALEX is a routine bilateral exercise held each year between the U.S. Navy and the JMSDF. Approximately 8,500 U.S. naval personnel will participate in the exercise.

One of the focus areas for ANNUALEX is anti-submarine warfare. Submarines have become increasingly quiet and sophisticated over the years, and today there are more than 250 of them in the Pacific within reach of critical choke points and navigational sea lanes. The Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet has underscored the importance of having an extensive ASW capability in a region so vital to the world’s population centers and commerce. Anti-submarine warfare is a vital joint requirement, but unique to the Navy. With the focused effort across the Navy, we are asserting our preeminence in this uniquely Navy core war-fighting competency.

Operating in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, the U.S. Seventh Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with approximately 50 ships, 120 aircraft and 20,000 Sailors and Marines assigned at any given time. For more information, visit the U.S. Seventh Fleet Web site at www.c7f.navy.mil

I know this is a big picture but its very nice. Mods delete if too much. Thanks

Along the asme subject line as the Kitty hawk the USN plans to shift CVN-73 to Yokuska in 2008. What a coindence! CVN-73 will arrive in Japan just in time for the Beijing olympics!..Just kidding..I think.

Pelimiary plans call for the USN to shift the Norfolk based USS
George Washington CVN-73 to Yokosuka Japn in 2008 to replace the USS
Kitty Hawk CV-63. I assume that the USS Carl Vinson CVN-70 or CVN-77
will take the CVN-73 spot in the massive Hampton roads base. So US
politicians ..shut-up!!!

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories...5581&ran=91218

Navy plans to move carrier George Washington to Japan

By DALE EISMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 18, 2005

WASHINGTON — The Navy has decided to send the Norfolk-based aircraft
carrier George Washington to Japan to replace the aging carrier
Kitty Hawk when it is retired from service in 2008, a senior defense
official said Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The
Virginian-Pilot that an announcement of the shift will be made
within a few weeks.

It will allow the Pentagon to keep a force of six carriers in the
Pacific, an area of growing concern to the Bush administration
because of China's aggressive efforts to upgrade its navy, but
probably leave only five flattops in the Atlantic Fleet.

The move raises the possibility that the carrier force at Norfolk
Naval Station could be cut from five to four, with a fifth Atlantic
carrier assigned to Mayport Naval Station , near Jacksonville, Fla.
Losing a carrier could drain about 3,000 jobs and hundreds of
millions of dollars annually from the Hampton Roads economy.

"There are just a lot of things that aren't final yet," cautioned
U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd District, who said Navy officials have
not yet briefed lawmakers on their plans.

She said she would be "extremely concerned" if the Navy tries to
shrink its Norfolk-based carrier force, but it's far from certain
that will occur.

"Nothing will happen fast," Drake said.

Norfolk is easily the Navy's largest hub for carriers, which along
with being a source of civic pride are a major engine for the local
economy. No other port has more than two flattops.

The loss of just one of the ships would drain about $225 million per
year from the local economy, according to a preliminary estimate
developed by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.

David Gist, a commission economist, said the estimate is a rough
calculation and could change depending on how the Navy executes the
transfer.

If the service sent the Washington's air wing and other ships in its
battle group along with the carrier, for example, the local economic
damage could swell to $982 million annually, he said.

That scenario may be unlikely because other ships and an air wing
already are in place in Japan with the Kitty Hawk.

The George Washington would be the first nuclear-powered ship to be
permanently stationed in Japan, the only nation ever attacked by
nuclear weapons.

The Japanese government agreed last month to allow a nuclear ship to
replace the oil-fired Kitty Hawk, but local opposition in the port
city of Yokosuka, where the ship would be stationed, could sour the
deal, Drake said.

Selecting a replacement for the Kitty Hawk has been a matter of some
delicacy for the Navy and the Bush administration. The Norfolk-based
Harry S. Truman and the Nimitz, based in San Diego, were ruled out
almost immediately because of President Truman's decision to use
nuclear weapons against Japan during World War II and Fleet Adm.
Chester Nimitz's role as a key leader of U.S. naval forces in the
war.

The carrier George H.W. Bush, which will enter service as the Kitty
Hawk retires, also was disqualified. The first President Bush flew
Navy torpedo bombers in battles with the Japanese from 1942 to 19 45.

The transfer also could be politically delicate at home. While
planning to send the George Washington to Japan, the Navy wants to
retire the carrier John F. Kennedy, now based in Mayport, and reduce
the overall carrier fleet to 11.

The Navy hasn't decided whether to replace the Kennedy in Mayport,
but the senior defense official indicated that the Atlantic Fleet
will retain five carriers with at least four of them in Norfolk.

A coalition of Virginia and Florida lawmakers blocked the Kennedy's
retirement earlier this year, forcing the Navy to keep the ship
until at least the middle of 2006, and legislation to require a 12-
carrier fleet is pending on Capitol Hill.

The number of carriers and their placement around the world are
major topics of the "Quadrennial Defense Review," a Pentagon study
of worldwide military threats and U.S. forces needed to meet them.

The review is to be completed and submitted to Congress early next
year, and defense officials have declined to speculate on what it
might recommend.

Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, told reporters this week that the Defense Department remains
committed to retiring the Kennedy. Other officials suggested
privately that administration plans to cut Pentagon spending by

$32 billion during the next five years will intensify pressure to
mothball the ship.

The Navy estimates retiring the conventionally powered Kennedy, now
38 years old and the most expensive-to-operate ship in the fleet,
will save about $200 million per year. Adm. Mi chael G. Mullen, the
chief of naval operations, endorsed the cut last month, telling
reporters that he's satisfied the service can execute its missions
with the 11 remaining flattops.

An aide to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said Thursday that his
boss still thinks a 12-carrier fleet is "the right thing to do for
America " but also intends to press for facility improvements that
will allow Mayport to accommodate a nuclear-powered carrier.

That sets the stage for a struggle between Florida's congressional
delegation, backed by Gov. Jeb Bush – the president's brother and a
potential Republican presidential candidate in 2008 or beyond – and
a Virginia contingent led by U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, chairman of
the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. George Allen, another
GOP presidential aspirer