USS Carl Vinson Flight Operations Remind Enemies America Can Always Strike From Nearby

Because of the rise of camera-equipped mobile devices and the omnipresence of the Internet, seeing airplanes take off and land from carrier decks is no longer something restricted to the likes of CNN covering Operation Desert Storm. The web is filled with such images, but one can’t help from bringing to light some more when mammoth platforms like USS Carl Vinson are involved.

The Vinson, also known as CVN 70, is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that if need be can move from its decks up to 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. And a glimpse of how that might look like can be seen in the video attached below, published last month by Military in Action.

It shows take-offs and landings performed by both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, a constant movement of deadly military machines meant to demonstrate whatever enemies America has left that if need be, this is the destructive power that can be unleashed from very close by.

Powered by two nuclear reactors, the Carl Vinson is a huge military platform, with a displacement of 113,500 tons, and a length of 1,092 feet (333 meters).

It is operating in the Indo-Pacific region, where it is deployed together with its own Carrier Strike Group that also comprises the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90).

Back in September, this aircraft carrier was responsible for reaching a unique milestone: since the beginning of the year, it transferred 1 million gallons (4.55 million liters) of fuel to other Navy vessels from its group, acting in essence as a mobile gas station as well.