Aircraft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Diverted to Guam Due to Virus Outbreak

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) has diverted to Guam following an outbreak of coronavirus onboard. Following initial news of three infected sailors, the number of cases is now said to have risen to “dozens.”  The sailors … Continue reading

USS Gerald R. Ford, Clogged Toilets and Overflowing Costs

The US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, is the largest aircraft carrier ever built and, at over $13 billion, is also the most expensive. Nevertheless, because of problems with mission-critical systems, the ship has been referred to … Continue reading

Paul Allen’s RV Petrel Locates Wreck of WWII Japanese Carrier Kaga

Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, died almost exactly a year ago.  Nevertheless, his passion for underwater archeology lives on in the operation of the Research Vessel Petrel, which is fully funded by Allen’s estate. The ship’s mission is to … Continue reading

The Sinking Dry Dock and the Smoking Aircraft Carrier with a Bad Heart

This is an odd story, set in the icy Siberian waters near Murmansk, Russia.  Apparently, Russia’s largest floating drydock sank from underneath Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, doing some damage to the carrier above the waterline as the dock … Continue reading

German Bomb Dredged up in Portsmouth Harbor

In 2011, a drought lowered the levels of the Rhine River, revealing unexploded munitions from World War II partially buried in the river banks exposed by the falling waters. Now, in Portsmouth harbor in the UK, World War II bombs are also being uncovered, not due … Continue reading

Queen Elizabeth II Christens Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

Today, Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II christened the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. As the ceremony was held in Rosyth, Scotland, the queen christened the ship with a bottle of whiskey from the Bowmore Distillery, rather than the … Continue reading

Salty Dog 502, X-47B Drone, First to Land on Aircraft Carrier

A US Navy’s X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System drone, nicknamed Salty Dog 502, successfully landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush at sea.  The Navy press release reads, in part: “Today’s demonstration was the first time a tailless, unmanned … Continue reading

Final Block for Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth Leaves Portsmouth

Remember when ships were built from the keel up and launched by sliding down the building ways into the water with a satisfying splash?  OK, maybe I am showing my age. These days ships are built like LEGOs, massive LEGOs, … Continue reading

Nine Flattops Home in Norfolk for Christmas

The Defense News blog Intercepts recently posted a photo of nine “flattops” home for Christmas at Norfolk naval base. Of the nine, five are aircraft carriers – the DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, GEORGE H. W. BUSH, ENTERPRISE, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, and HARRY S TRUMAN.  The other four are the … Continue reading

J-15 Fighter Jet Lands and Takes Off from China’s First Aircraft Carrier Liaoning

At the end of last September, the New York Times quoted un-named “Chinese and other military experts”  regarding the Liaoning, the first Chinese aircraft carrier to go into service, that “China does not have planes capable of landing on the carrier and so far … Continue reading