U.S. Navy conducts nuclear-powered aircraft carrier drill

The U.S. Navy on Friday conducted a military exercise centered around the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier deployed in the Pacific Ocean.

Members of the Japanese press were invited to attend.

As part of the exercise, a series of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter-attack aircraft took off from the ship. Press members were also shown a hangar and the ship’s wheelhouse. As of noon Friday, the vessel was sailing about 500 kilometers south of the U.S. Naval base in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The ship’s commanding officer Captain Fred Goldhammer explained that the carrier is equipped with four on-deck aircraft catapults and aircraft can depart every 90 seconds and land every 45 seconds.

The Chinese military is currently conducting large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan.

Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly, Commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 to which the carrier belongs, said the United States and the Maritime Self-Defense Force were committed to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, adding that Washington would not yield to threats or provocations.