First time in four years! The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives in Yokosuka to participate in Blade 27

The US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived at the port of Yokosuka, Japan, preparing to participate in the US-Japan joint exercise "Knife 27". (Picture taken from U.S. Navy)

[Compiled by Chen Chengliang/Comprehensive Report] The US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier "USS Theodore Roosevelt" (CVN-71) arrived at the port of Yokosuka, Japan on October 16, preparing to participate in the US-Japan joint exercise "Keen Sword 27". This is the first time in four years that a US military aircraft carrier from non-Japanese forward-deployed forces has entered Yokosuka Port. The previous one was the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in 2022.

USNI News reported that the Roosevelt, the cruiser USS Chosin (CG-65) and the destroyer USS Decatur (DDG-73) entered the port at 9:20 a.m. local time on October 16. The US military stated that the trip will carry out routine maintenance and supplies, and communicate with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in preparation for the exercise.

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When the Roosevelt arrived in Japan, the US military had two other aircraft strike groups performing missions in the Middle East. USNI News' global fleet deployment data as of October 13 shows that the USS George Washington (CVN-73) and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) aircraft strike groups are both in the Arabian Sea to support US military operations in the Middle East. The Roosevelt arrived in Japan and prepared to participate in Sharp Sword 27, showing the different deployment positions of US warships in the Middle East and the Western Pacific.

USS Washington and USS Bush deployed in Arabian Sea

"Sharp Sword 27" is a joint exercise held regularly by the United States and Japan. The exercise content covers land, sea, air and other fields. The Roosevelt arrived in Yokosuka to add the participation of a US aircraft strike group to the US-Japan exercise.

Yokosuka is the forward deployment base of the U.S. Navy in Japan and an important port of call for U.S. aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific. The Roosevelt is an aircraft ship that departs from the United States to perform deployment missions, which is different from the US aircraft ships that have been stationed in Japan for a long time.

The Roosevelt strike group is also equipped with the medium-sized unmanned surface vehicle "Seahawk" this time. U.S. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao stated at an event in Washington on October 14 that the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group was deployed with medium-sized unmanned surface vehicles. This was the first time that a U.S. aircraft strike group had adopted such a deployment arrangement.