USS Ronald Reagan coming to Korean waters

The United States is expected to send the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), a forward-deployed aircraft carrier, to waters near the Korean Peninsula this month for a combined exercise with South Korea’s Navy, a defense official here said Sunday.

“We are in consultations [with the United States] on a plan for the aircraft strike group led by the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan, to operate in the East Sea around Oct. 15,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The Reagan will likely be accompanied by several other warships belonging to the strike group, such as an Aegis destroyer, a guided-missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine. The two sides plan to conduct joint drills to detect, track and intercept the North’s ballistic missiles in addition to anti-submarine warfare training, according to the official.

The practice comes as military tensions have escalated on the peninsula over the North’s recent provocations, although the official said the allies’ planned naval operation has been prearranged. The United States recently flew a squadron of B-1B strategic bombers and fighter jets close to the North’s east coast. The Reagan has a deck the size of three football fields, with nearly 80 aircraft on board ranging from fighter jets to helicopters. It has a crew of 5,000.

Yonhap