US Navy’s £4.7billion aircraft carrier steams through the Solent with an amazing fleet of fighter aircraft and 5,000 crew
The USS George HW Bush has been anchored in British waters ahead of a joint US and UK training exercise
THE US Navy's £4.7billion aircraft carrier has been pictured steaming through the Solent with an amazing fleet of fighter aircraft and a crew of 5,000.
The USS George HW Bush – used in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria – has been anchored in British waters off ahead of a joint US and UK training exercise.
Commissioned at the beginning of 2009, the 97,000-tonne behemoth boasts an awe-inspiring array of weaponry.
It is capable of carrying up to 80 aircraft on its four-and-a-half acre flight deck for deployment in warzones around the world.
The super-sized warship is loaded with F-18 Hornet and Super Hornet fighter jets, along with Seahawk helicopters, Hawkeye planes and a Boeing EA-18G Growler.
Powered by nuclear reactors that can operate for more than 20 years without refuelling, it is expected to operate for about 50 years.
It must also carry enough food and provisions for the colossal horde of people on board.
The ship carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days – serving some 18,150 meals every day.
It also has 30,000 light fixtures and 1,600 miles of cables and wiring, as well as 1,400 telephones, 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets.
The 1,092ft-long Nimitz class aircraft carrier, one of 10 in the American Naval fleet, is too large to enter Portsmouth Harbour and so had to drop its anchor in the Solent's Stokes Bay today.
The carrier and its crew have been deployed for seven months in the Gulf and the Mediterranean - launching airstrikes as part of the 72-member international anti-ISIS coalition.
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They are now gearing up for the next part of their mission – Exercise Saxon Warrior, one of the largest war games co-hosted by the UK and US – which begins on Monday and will also involve Nato partners.
Speaking on board the warship, Commodore Andrew Betton, commander of the Royal Navy's carrier strike group said the imminent exercise is "multinational", and will be run around the British Isles for the next two weeks.
He said: "With the Nato task group and the George HW Bush task group, we are going to be exercising anti-submarine, anti-air and land attack capabilities over the next couple of weeks."
Rear Admiral Kenneth Whitesell, commander of the US Navy's carrier strike group 2, said they have been working with the UK carrier strike group for the past two-and-a-half weeks.
THE USS GEORGE HW BUSH AIRCRAFT CARRIER
:: The carrier is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is high, and has a top speed that exceeds 30 knots
:: It is powered by nuclear reactors that can operate for more than 20 years without refuelling, and is expected to operate for about 50 years
:: Three two-inch diameter arresting wires on the deck bring aircraft going 150 miles per hour to a stop in under 400ft
:: The ship towers 20 storeys above the waterline with a four-and-a-half acre flight deck
:: It has four bronze propellers – each of which is 21ft across and weighs more than 27 tonnes
:: Steering is done through two rudders, each of which is 29ft by 22ft and weighs 45 tonnes
:: Four high-speed aircraft elevators bring planes to the flight deck from the hangar
:: The ship carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days – with 18,150 meals served daily
:: Distillation plants provide 400,000 gallons of fresh water from the sea on a daily basis
:: On board there are 30,000 light fixtures and 1,600 miles of cables and wiring, as well as 1,400 telephones, 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets
Cmdr Betton said the placement of British carrier strike group battle staff on board the USS George HW Bush for the past week in preparation for the exercise has been a "fantastic training opportunity".
He said: "We have already prepared for this exercise, which starts in earnest on Monday.
"We are going to be embarking with 60 UK – largely Navy but Navy, Air Force and Army – personnel, to command this exercise on behalf of Admiral Whitesell.
"It is his task group, but he is letting me run the show for two weeks, in preparation for running our own Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group in a couple of years’ time."
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