Tag Archives: USS George H.W. Bush

Can we just acknowledge the tonnage deployed on Epic Fury?

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The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) sails in the Atlantic Ocean, April 12, 2026. The George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, comprised of nearly 5,000 Sailors, provides combatant commanders and America’s civilian leaders with increased capacity to underpin American security and economic prosperity, deter adversaries, and project power on a global scale through sustained operations at sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John R. Farren)

Right now, as noted by open sources (Centcom releases, USNI’s Marine Tracker, etc), we have three carrier strike groups– built around USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), and George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)— as well as two ARGs (USS Boxer and Tripoli), either in the region or steaming there. Tripoli is also deployed with USS New Orleans (LPD-18) and Rushmore (LSD-47) with the 31st MEU embarked, while Boxer is sailing with USS Comstock (LSD-45) and Portland (LPD-27) as well as the 11th MEU.

Centcom confirms this is the first time they have had three CVNs in their area of operation since 2003, and greater than 20,000 assorted Bluejackets and Marines are afloat.

They have no less than 18 Burkes supporting:

  • USS Mitscher (DDG-57)
  • USS Gonzalez (DDG-66)
  • USS Milius (DDG-69)
  • USS Ross (DDG-71) (Bush CSG)
  • USS Mahan (DDG-72) (Ford CSG)
  • USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) (Bush CSG)
  • USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) (Ford CSG, Air Defense Commander)
  • USS Bulkeley (DDG-84)
  • USS Mason (DDG-87) (Bush CSG, Air Defense Commander)
  • USS Pickney (DDG-91)
  • USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) (Ford CSG)
  • USS Spruance (DDG-111) (Lincoln CSG)
  • USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112)
  • USS John Finn (DDG-113)
  • USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115)
  • USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) (Ford CSG)
  • USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119)
  • USS Frank E. Petersen (DDG-121) (Lincoln CSG, Air Defense Commander)

For those keeping count, that is roughly 300K tons of carriers, 250K tons of ‘Phibs, and 165k tons of destroyers, with the Silent Service’s SSNs and SSGNs not publicized and keeping very silent indeed, and the logistics tail, which never gets any love except from Sal. 

So, pushing just shy of a million tons, with three carriers, 18 tin cans, six Gators, and AO/AOE/SS undetailed. Truth be told, that is one serious naval force.

Sadly, there are no Ticos forward deployed to Centcom. Looks like the old girls are sitting this one out, and all the CSGs are using upgraded SM-3 carrying DDGs for the group’s Air Defense Commander roles.

Combat air squadrons embarked include a homogenous 11 F/A-18E/F units (VFA-14, VFA-31, VFA-37, VFA-41, VFA-83, VFA-87, VFA-103, VFA-105, VFA-131, VFA-151, and VFA-213), three of EA-18Gs (VAQ-130, VAQ-133, and VAQ-142) and a single F-35C squadron– the Black Knights of VMFA-314.

Ironically, this puts the Marines, which by trope are given the obsolete stuff the Navy doesn’t want any longer, with the most advanced fighter in squadron service during Epic Fury– leaving the Navy to push 14 assorted squadrons of Rhino! Of further note, there are no F-18C/D models deployed, with the 5-6 legacy squadrons that use these are all stateside Marine dirt-dets, as the last carrier deployment for those little birds was with VMFA-323 in 2021 on Nimitz.

Still, somewhere around 400 embarked aircraft when all the MH-60s aboard the DDGs and the MEU’s air units are counted.

In other sad news, the Navy’s minesweeping solution, the mine module equipped LCSs (USS Canberra, Santa Barbara, and Tulsa) were all pulled out of Bahrain in March and have been notably MIA while two aging Avenger-class sweepers based in Sasebo, USS Chief (MCM-14) and Pioneer (MCM-9), are “speeding” towards the Hormuz, a short 6,600nm jaunt away, a sail of 20 days at their typical 14 knot cruising speed. Of course, that doesn’t include stops to refuel and flirt with monkeys.

What’s left for the rest of the world?

What does this leave for other contingencies?

A MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to the “Indians” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, transports stores to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a vertical replenishment-at-sea in the Pacific Ocean, April 23, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Johnathan McCune)

Well, of the country’s CVNs, Nimitz is in her slow-motion final cruise around Latin America to begin her deactivation, Stennis is in RCOH (where she has been for five years) and isn’t expected back in the fleet until at least October 2026, Reagan is in DPIA until at least August of 2026, Harry S. Truman (which the Navy wanted to decommission in 2019!) is set to begin her much needed RCOH in June, and JFK won’t commission until the summer of 2027 (a date likely to be pushed back after the lessons learned during Ford’s now epic deployment and saga of underway mechanical casualties).

This leaves on the East Coast the 49-year-old Ike— which is just wrapping up sea trials after a yard stint that was completed early (yes, Virginia, it is possible) and is set to retire in 2028 but probably won’t (see Ford/JFK)– Vinson and Teddy R on the West Coast, and George Washington forward deployed to Japan from where the Navy will keep her as a hedge against China/NorK.

Only four CVNs (USS Carl Vinson, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt) can handle the F-35C as they have cooled jet blast deflectors and a hangar bay that is reconfigured to support their maintenance (i.e., ODIN data centers).

Further, speaking to big-deck LHD/LHAs, the Navy only owns nine after the Bon Homme Richard fire, and two are deployed to Epic Fury as noted above. Iwo Jima is assigned to operations off Venezuela right now (delaying a planned $200 million update to operate F-35s), and two others, Essex and Kearsarge, are working up on the East and West coasts, respectively. Of the other four, two are in fairly poor material shape, with Bataan currently receiving heavy maintenance after a fire last December during her two-year-long modernization, and America is undergoing a DSRA at NASSCO until at least July 2027.

Meanwhile, only five big deck ‘phibs (USS Wasp, Essex, America, Makin Island, and Boxer) have had their decks shielded to operate short take off/vertically landing F-35Bs.

The new construction big deck phibs, the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), Fallujah (LHA-9), and Helmand Province (LHA-10) have had their delivery dates pushed back to July 2027, July 2031, and September 2034, respectively.

Afloat in the Pascagoula River proper is the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), the first Flight I America-class Lightning carrier, circa March 2026. She still has another 15 months of fitting out and trials to come. Chris Eger

For reference, Bougainville was laid down in March 2019, which would give her an eight-year construction cycle. The first steel on Helmand Province hasn’t even been cut yet, so even 2034 may be optimistic (although Wasp is set to retire that year). Even if Helmand Province arrives in the fleet in 2034 as planned, class leader America (LHA-6) will be 20 years in service then, while the Wasp-class LHDs will be edging to age 40, which is never a good look on a gator (the longest serving Tarawa class, the very high-mileage Peleliu, only spent 34 years and five weeks in commission).

And the beat goes on…

NATO Flattop Interoperability

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In the Med last week, three very different NATO Carrier Strike Groups got some important joint exercises while underway in the Ionian Sea. The ANTARES/Mare Aperto 22-2 exercise saw the George H.W. Bush CSG, the French de Gaulle CSG, and the Italian Cavour CSG operate side-by-side and even do some cross-decking, something made easy as the de Gaulle uses the same CATOBAR system and methods as the U.S. while Cavour’s rotary aircraft and F-35s (at least in theory) can land on either. The “Plug and fight” capacity is more important than one would think.

From images and videos released, F-18s, Rafales, and C-2s conducted landings, launchings, and touch-and-goes across at least the French and U.S. carriers.

(Nov. 23, 2022) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Roberto Cerdas assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), directs a French Rafale fighter jet onto the catapult during multi-carrier operations between the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Charles de Gaulle CSG, and the Italian Cavour CSG Nov. 23, 2022. The George H.W. Bush CSG is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied, and partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Samuel Wagner)

A French Rafale fighter jet is launched off the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) during multi-carrier operations between the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Charles de Gaulle CSG, and the Italian Cavour CSG, Nov. 23, 2022. (U.S. Navy Courtesy photo)

A U.S. C-2 Greyhound COD on de Gaulle’s cat.

A U.S. F-18E trapping on de Gaulle.

There was also some swapping of escorts, with a U.S. DDG operating with the French and Italian forces separately, while the latter contributed tin cans to steam along with USS George H.W. Bush over the horizon.

“Opportunities for interoperability between forces and CSGs as a testament to the strength of our Alliance. Currently, we have Italian Frigates embedded with both the George H.W. Bush and French Strike groups participating alongside our Allies in their daily operations, and last month the Italian Navy fully integrated the Standing NATO Forces Group Two units into our major bi-annual fleet exercise Mare Aperto 22-2,” said Rear Adm. Vincenzo Montanaro, commander of Italian Maritime Forces and the Italian Carrier Strike Group, while aboard George H.W. Bush. “Our dedication to cross-training during both exercises and real-world operations demonstrates the Alliance’s collective resolve as well as our collective capacity as a NATO force.”

The French also operated with Greek land-based F-4Es, and have a great video of the Phantoms with de Gaulle in the background. If you don’t love Phantoms and flattops, why are you even alive?

For reference:

George H.W. Bush is the flagship of CSG-10 and the GHWBCSG. CSG-10 is comprised of George H.W. Bush, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 26, the Information Warfare Commander, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55).

The ships of DESRON-26 within CSG-10 are the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Nitze (DDG 94), USS Farragut (DDG 99), USS Truxtun (DDG 103), and USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119).

The squadrons of CVW-7 embarked aboard George H.W. Bush are the “Jolly Rogers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103, the “Pukin Dogs” of VFA-143, the “Bluetails” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121, the “Nightdippers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, the “Sidewinders” of VFA-86, the “Nighthawks” of VFA-136, the “Patriots” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 140, and the “Grandmasters” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46.

George is a big boy…

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The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), after a decade with the fleet, arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), Feb. 21, for a 28-month dry-docking planned incremental availability (DPIA). Bush will be on blocks for the majority of her yard period.

As noted by the Navy, “Dry-docking and maintaining a 103,000 ton, 1,092-foot aircraft carrier is complex work. This DPIA marks the first time George H.W. Bush has not been waterborne since 2006. Requiring an estimated 1.3 million man-days, it will be the most extensive maintenance period for the ship yet and one of the most complex CVN chief of naval operations availabilities in recent NNSY history.”

Hauled out in drydock, she is impressive:

Those anchors, tho.

The shipyard workforce will be providing approximately 775,000 man-days, with ship’s force, alteration installation teams and contractor work comprising the rest.

Now if they can just keep the Navy from decommissioning the 23-year-old USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) from being put to pasture prematurely, all will be good.

According to the FY2020 Navy budget, Truman would not be funded for a midlife refueling, which is surely news to the lawmakers and policy wonks that talked up the planned 50-year lifespan of the vessel to get her funded in 1988 when she was ordered.

While Big Navy and the Acting SECDEF supports the move as freeing up cash for other items (read= F35s), it seems like a repeat of the time they decommissioned the USS America (CV-66) to avoid putting that flattop through a SLEP that would have extended her life for another 10-15 years.

And we all remember what happened to USS America…