Spanish frigate 'Méndez Nuñez' integrates into the US strike group deployed to the Mediterranean to provide support to Israel

Sources from Spain's Ministry of Defense deny any connection to the Israeli conflict, framing the recent activities as part of routine measures to 'enhance joint capabilities' of the US Navy within the 'Noble Shield' operation.

On October 9th, the Pentagon directed the Carrier Strike Group of the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Eastern Mediterranean to assist Israel in its offensive against Hamas. This deployment comprised the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) of the Ticonderoga class, alongside guided-missile destroyers of the Arleigh-Burke class, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS Carney (DDG 64), and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80). Notably, the latter destroyer was among the four vessels stationed at the Rota military base.

Spain's Chief of Defense (EMAD) confirmed that the frigate 'Méndez Núñez' is conducting training activities with the US Navy Strike Group in the Eastern Mediterranean. EMAD emphasized that this integration "has nothing to do with Israel" and aims to 'implement joint procedures to increase interoperability and enhance combined capabilities.'

Specifically, the frigate 'Méndez Núñez' participated in an anti-aircraft defense exercise alongside the Group's vessels and F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft of the US Navy. Moreover, personnel exchanges were conducted with the USS 'Normandy'. Flight operations were carried out to acquaint both crews and pilots with helicopters and respective naval platforms.

An SH60B helicopter from the frigate 'Méndez Núñez' landed on the American aircraft carrier, while an MH60R helicopter interacted with the frigate 'Méndez Núñez'.

Eisenhower Strike Group to Team Up with USS Ford in the Eastern Mediterranean amid Israel Gaza war

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier is set to head to the Eastern Mediterranean and will unite with the USS Gerald Ford Carrier Strike Group to offer assistance to Israel. This represents the most recent action by the Pentagon to strengthen the U.S. presence in the area during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The carrier set sail from NAS Norfolk last Saturday, the 14th, for a planned deployment to the U.S. European Command region of responsibility. The 'Eisenhower' Strike Group is accompanied by Carrier Air Wing 3, the cruiser Philippine Sea, and the destroyers Gravely and Mason.

On Tuesday, the 10th, the USS Gerald Ford arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean. The strike group comprises eight squadrons of attack and support aircraft, along with the destroyers Thomas Hudner, Ramage, Carney, and Roosevelt, as well as the cruiser Normandy.

Additional U.S. Air Force F-15s, F-16s, and A-10 fighter aircraft have also been dispatched to the region. The duration of the operations of both strike groups off Israel and when Ford will begin its return home remain uncertain.

Related:

US Deploys A-10s, F-15s, and F-16s and USS Gerald R. Ford to Middle East amid Israel-Gaza Fighting

Israel strikes Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza and Syria

Israel grounds 11 F-35 JSF jets after U.S. crash

US Deploys A-10s, F-15s, and F-16s and USS Gerald R. Ford to Middle East amid Israel-Gaza Fighting

U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, declared on Oct. 8 that extra A-10s, F-15s, and F-16s were deploying to its theater of actions alongside the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike team, which arrived on Tuesday in the Eastern Mediterranean.

On Thursday, the 354th Fighter Squadron from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, reached the CENTCOM area.

“We expect to see more posture increases flowing in over the next week,” said the senior defense official, who did not specify what U.S. military forces would arrive in the region. “The [CENTCOM] announcement of the posture increases on Sunday are extremely significant and sizeable, and it’s going to take a couple days to get all those augmentations in place.”

U.S. military personnel stationed at the American embassy in Israel are also offering advise to the Israel Defense Forces concerning hostage rescue mission. Pentagon at present does not have any intention of dispatching American ground troops to Israel.

Meanwhile, the USS Ford and its task force will conduct in a range of assignments in the Eastern Mediterranean, encompassing intelligence and maritime assistance. Despite the Ford's task force being capable of executing long-range attacks, that is not a choice the Defense Department is contemplating.

U.S. government authorities have not yet made a determination regarding whether the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its task force, which embarked on a deployment to Europe arranged before the Oct. 7 assaults, will rendezvous with the USS Ford in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The initial U.S. delivery of compact-size bombs and various armaments reached Israel in the recent week. Upcoming transports of military gear for Israel should comprise anti-aircraft systems, artillery rounds, Joint Direct Attack Munition sets, alternative precision-guided armaments, and interceptors for their Iron Dome setup.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to travel to Israel, where he will meet withIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Israel's war cabinet.

 

NEWS 2022 March, 4

First B-21 has been taken out the production facility and moved to Hangar for Loads Calibration

The first B-21 expected to fly is largely assembled and has moved to a calibration facility, one of the last steps before powering systems and making final checks ahead of first flight.

First B-21 has got landing gear, wheels and wings. Six B-21s are now under construction at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif.

The loads calibration test ensures the structure and gives an insight about if the design meet the needs

The aircraft has not yet been assigned a tail number or name and there is not date of rollout and first flight

airforcemag

RAF P-8 JOINS NATO TO TRACK RUSSIAN VESSELS IN MEDITERRANEAN

A Royal Air Force Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft has joined other NATO ships and aircraft to locate and track Russian Navy warships in the Mediterranean Sea.Deployed to the region on a training exercise, the aircraft was reassigned to support a coalition of NATO warships tasked with the shadowing of Russian vessels.

raf

US Navy recovers wreckage of F-35C that crashed South China Sea

In order to retrieve the wreckage of the military aircraft from "approximately 12,400 feet" deep, a team of US Navy service members used a "remotely-operated vehicle" called the CURV-21 to attach "specialized rigging and lift lines to the aircraft" at the bottom of the ocean.

The US Navy on Wednesday recovered from the bottom of the South China Sea the wreckage of a F-35C that crashed into the deck of a US aircraft carrier in January, the US Navy's 7th Fleet announced in a news release Thursday.

The F-35C crashed into the ocean after failing to make a successful landing on the USS Carl Vinson, while conducting "routine flight operations" on January 24.

cnn

USS Gerald Ford completes sea trials ahead of 2022 deployment

The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford concluded a maintenance availability and sea trials Monday in preparation for the its first deployment.

After completing modernization and maintenance work, then sea trials, during a sixth-month Planned Incremental Availability at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, the carrier arrived at Naval Station Norfolk to kick off training and certification.

navytimes

USS Gerald R. Ford’s EMALS cleared for all aircraft

The US Navy’s (USN) newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, has been cleared as operationally safe for launching and recovering all naval aircraft types using its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG).
The aircraft carrier, known also as CVN 78, completed at-sea compatibility testing with EMALS and AAG, demonstrating launch and recovery with the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, Northrop Grumman C-2A Greyhound, Boeing EA-18G Growler, and McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk
flightglobal

USS Gerald R. Ford's first flight ops

The Gerald R. Ford is now officially an aircraft carrier, having recovered and launched aircraft four different times.
Not only were Monday’s flight operations a milestone for the newly commissioned ship, but it ushered in a new, high-tech era for flight deck technology. Yet it could still be a few more years before the Navy sees whether the new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, known as EMALS, will meet all of its promise.
But the system isn’t expected to be fully capable for another couple of years. In 2014, it was discovered in testing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, that fully loaded aircraft carrying fuel were experiencing unacceptable load levels on their wings during launches.
The fix is a software upgrade for the EMALS what won’t be installed until 2019, during the ship’s post-shakedown availability. Until then, launching aircraft is not restricted, but not any with heavy fuel or bomb loads.
navytimes

New US Navy EMALS Launch System Can't Launch Fighter if They Are Carrying Fuel Tanks

The U.S. Navy’s top can’t be launched off its newest aircraft carrier if they’re carrying fuel tanks, range because the ship’s high-tech catapults cause too much wear.
Military weapons testers view this as a deficiency that would “preclude the Navy from conducting normal operations” on the USS Gerald R. Ford until it’s corrected.
The previously undisclosed troubles with the EMALS catapult system from General Atomics add to shortcomings for the first in a new class of aircraft carriers being built by Newport News.
The 480-gallon tanks for extended flights are carried under the wings of two models of the F/A-18, the Super Hornet fighter and the Growler. The carrier’s electromagnetic launch system, made by General Atomics, puts more stress on the tanks than older steam-powered catapults, and that would cause premature damage to the planes.
The wing tanks and the pylons they hang from are designed to withstand twisting and yanking when an aircraft is launched, but the stresses add up over time. Given the test results, the warplanes wouldn’t be able to launch with fuel tanks.
The Navy says it will install corrective software on the launch system intended to reduce acceleration forces and will test it on board the USS Ford after delivery next March.
bloomberg

US Navy new USS Gerald R. Ford carrier set for 2 years of testing

The US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, The USS Gerald R. Ford, a massive warship outfitted with the latest radar technology and sophisticated systems to accommodate unmanned, carrier-launched drones — is set to undergo more than two years of rigorous testing.
The USS Gerald R. Ford is the first of what will eventually be the Navy’s fleet of next-generation Ford-class aircraft carriers. The upgraded ships are the first new designs of aircraft carriers since the USS Nimitz was built in the late 1960s.
The USS Ford was christened during a special ceremony in November in Newport News, Virginia. The massive warship is slated to officially enter service in the Navy in 2016. But first, shipbuilders will spend 26 months meticulously testing the aircraft carrier’s various systems.
The USS Ford’s testing phase is longer and more labour intensive than normal because the next-generation warship incorporates many new technologies, including upgraded radar systems, more efficient nuclear power plants and electromagnetic launchers designed to more effectively propel aircraft off the carrier’s deck.
The mammoth USS Ford weighs nearly 100,000 tonnes, and will eventually be home to more than 4,600 service people and up to 75 aircraft.
The Ford-class carriers are designed to replace the Navy’s existing Nimitz-class warships, which have been in operation since the 1970s. The upgraded designs feature larger flight decks, three aircraft elevators and the new ships also replace steam-powered systems with more efficient onboard electrical power.
The Ford-class ships are designed to operate for 50 years. Construction is already beginning on the next aircraft carrier in the fleet, the USS John F. Kennedy.
gulf-times

U.S. Navy christens CVN-78 'USS Gerald Ford'

With the strike of a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow by the ship's sponsor, the Navy christened its newest aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the lead ship of the new Gerald R. Ford class, Nov. 9, in a ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va.
Susan Ford Bales, Ford's daughter and the ship's sponsor, had the honor of christening the ship in front of more than 20,000 Sailors, shipbuilders and civilians, bringing to life the Navy's newest aircraft carrier design in more than 40 years.
The Ford class is designed with significant quality-of-life improvements and reduced maintenance. These innovations are expected to improve operational availability and capability, and reduce total ownership cost over its 50-year service life by $4 billion compared with Nimitz-class carriers.
The ship is also designed to evolve with advances in technology.
CVN 78 honors the 38th President of the United States and pays tribute to his lifetime of service in the Navy, in the U.S. government and to the nation. During World War II he attained the rank of lieutenant commander in the Navy, serving on the light carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26). Ford was the first vice president and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, succeeded the first president ever to resign, serving in the country's highest office from 1974-1977.
navy.mil

Final aircraft carrier installed on USS Gerald Ford carrier

Newport News Shipbuilding has installed the third and final aircraft elevator on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford.
The elevator transports aircraft from the hangar deck to to the flight deck. The 120-ton structure is 85 feet long and 52 feet wide.
The Ford class is designed with three aircraft elevators, one less than the Nimitz class. The design provides greater flight deck area for increased sortie rates over the Nimitz-class design.
dailypress

Delaying next carrier would further boost cost-US Navy

Delaying work by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc on the USS Kennedy, the second Ford-class aircraft carrier, would likely add $600 million a year to the cost of the new warship, according the U.S. Navy's top acquisition official.
cnbc

US Navy Should Delay Next Carrier Amid Troubles, GAO Says

The U.S. Navy should delay the award of a multibillion-dollar contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII) to build the second aircraft carrier in a new class as the first one faces failings from its radar to the gear that launches planes, congressional investigators said.
bloomberg

Flight deck of PCU Gerald R. Ford completed

Another milestone has been marked in the construction of the Navy's newest aircraft carrier.
Huntington Ingalls Industries says construction of the Gerald R. Ford's flight deck is complete. Workers added the Ford's upper bow section last week.
Construction of the Ford began in November 2009 at Newport News Shipbuilding. Huntington Ingalls says in a news release that structural work is 96 percent complete.
The Ford is the lead ship in a new class of carriers. It features a new nuclear power plant, a redesigned island, electromagnetic catapults, improved weapons movement and an enhanced flight deck.
The Ford will replace the Enterprise, which was inactivated last year.
navytimes

US Navy completes EMALS shared generator testing

The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) motor generator stores energy in the inertia of its rotor and releases that energy upon initiation of the aircraft launch onboard carriers. EMALS completed shared generator testing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., today. EMALS is replacing the current steam catapult system on aircraft carriers,

The Navy’s future carrier aircraft launch system concluded a unique test event today earlier than planned.

The Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Program Office (PMA-251)’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, (EMALS), completed shared generator testing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

EMALS is replacing the current steam catapult system on aircraft carriers, beginning with the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

navair

Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Topped Off with 555-Metric Ton Island

Huntington Ingalls Industries celebrated significant progress as the 555-metric ton island was lowered onto the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) at the company's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. The island will serve as the command center for flight deck operations aboard the first of the next-generation class of aircraft carriers.

globenewswire