ACIBC Fact Sheet: National Security
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the
Black
Knights
of Strike Fighter Squadron
One Five Four (VFA-154), undergoes
final
checks before being launched from the
flight
deck aboard the Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).
- A United States Navy aircraft carrier is a very modern, very mobile U.S. military base complete with airfield, hospital and communications systems from which the United States can strike at its enemies.
- For over 70 years, U.S. Navy aircraft carriers have been vital to defending America. Aircraft carriers have been employed in every major and many smaller conflicts including Vietnam; Grenada and Lebanon; Libya; Operation Desert Storm; and most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- The United States Navy has the world's largest carrier fleet, with eleven in service and one under construction.
- A carrier's air wing can typically support 125 sorties a day at a distance of up to 750 nautical miles.
- Carriers also operate as hubs in the strike group's command, control, communications and intelligence networks, playing an increasingly larger role in controlling the battle space at sea.
- Over 90 percent of world trade is moved by sea, including much of the world’s gas and oil supply. Aircraft carriers and their strike forces are constantly on patrol in vital regions of the world to keep shipping lanes open and protect the interests of the United States and its allies.
- Carriers can rapidly transport large, powerful forces to any region in the globe, and engage in several missions simultaneously.
- Modern carrier capabilities save American forces from having to comply with the arbitrary requirements of other nations. In 2001, it took months to negotiate aircraft basing permission from the countries surrounding Afghanistan. Carriers stationed in international waters can provide the infrastructure, equipment and staff to enable forces to undertake their missions without delay.
- During a six-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, aircraft from the USS Theodore Roosevelt flew more than 1,700 combat missions in support of ground troops while also monitoring Iranian defense forces in the region and keeping sea lanes open and safe for civilian commercial shipping operations in the Gulf.
- In 2009, the air wings of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) flew more than 6,200 sorties in support of troops on the ground in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. Ships of these Carrier Strike Groups were also vital in counter piracy operations off of Somalia and the Horn of Africa and Maritime Security Operations to include protecting vital Iraqi infrastructure in the North Arabian Gulf.