In the waters to the west of the Korean Peninsula….a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier conducts routine activity

October 10, 2013 Aircraft Carriers, North Korea, Troubled Areas

David Cenciotti

The image in this post shows an EA-18G Growler from the “Shadowhawks” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141 making an arrested landing on the flight deck of the USS George Washington (CVN 73).

George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, are forward-deployed to provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

Months since the last threat message, Pyongyang has put its forces put on high alert after U.S. warships entered the South Korean port of Busan in preparation for a joint military exercise with Japan and South Korea’s forces.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Pyongyang regime, said the drills are a “bellicose attempt to escalate the situation on the Korean Peninsula […] by openly threatening it with nukes,” referring to the presence of USS Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Image credit: U.S. Navy

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.