Dzirhan Mahadzir – June 6, 2025 11:44 AM – Updated: June 6, 2025 12:06 PM
Forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) returned to Yokosuka this week after wrapping up sea trials ahead of a summer patrol. Meanwhile, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 wrapped up Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) drills on Iwo To (Iwo Jima) on Saturday.
George Washington arrived on Wednesday and docked at Yokosuka, reads a release from the Yokosuka City Council, with ship spotters confirming the arrival. The carrier had departed Yokosuka on May 25 to carry out trials and training.
During its underway, George Washington sailed in the Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea waters near Japan with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 “Golden Falcons”, operating MH-60S Knight Hawks and part of CVW-5, embarked on the carrier and conducting flight operations on May 28 while also on the same day, George Washington conducted a fueling-at-sea with Military Sealift Command (MSC) chartered tanker Badlands Trader.
Meanwhile, the fixed-wing aircraft squadrons of CVW-5, consisting of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 27 “Royal Maces”, VFA-102 “Diamondbacks” and VFA-195 “Dambusters” operating F/A-18E/F Superhornets, VFA-147 “Argonauts” operating F-35C Lightning IIs, Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141, operating EA-18G Growlers and Airborne Command & Control Squadron (VAW) 125 “Tigertails”, operating E-2D Hawkeyes, carried out FCLP training on Iwo To from May 19 to Saturday, marking the first time U.S. Navy F-35Cs had drilled on the island according to a Navy release.
Japan has been constructing an airbase on Mageshima, an uninhabited island lying roughly 30 miles south of the southeast tip of the main island of Kyushu and seven miles east off the island of the island of Tanegashima which houses Tanegashima Space Center, Japan’s largest space development center. However, labor and material shortages have pushed back the completion of the airbase from 2027 to 2030. The airbase will enable Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-35Bs and U.S. carrier-based aircraft to conduct FCLP training there.
George Washington’s parent command, Command Task Force (CTF) 70, conducted annual staff talks with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) on May 28 at Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 headquarters at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka with Rear Adm. Greg Newkirk, commander of Task Force 70 and Vice Adm. Yoshihiro Goka, commander of the JMSDF Fleet Escort Force, leading the meetings, according to a release.
The meetings saw Task Force 70 and Fleet Escort Force staff members discuss maritime strategy, as well as upcoming patrols, operations and exercises, “These staff talks include the detailed planning and coordination that sets the foundation for those bilateral operations over the course of the year, and allows our combined naval force to come together as a single, formidable deterrent team,” said Newkirk in the release.
Currently, the Nimitz CSG is the only U.S. carrier strike group deployed in the Western Pacific. The CSG includes aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) with embarked CVW-17 and destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Gridley (DDG-101) and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123). The Nimitz CSG is operating in the South China Sea, having sailed back there on May 25 after wrapping up a port visit to Malaysia. USNI News reported that Nimitz is on its final deployment before a scheduled decommissioning in 2026.
On Thursday, Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO) said on Wednesday, PLAN cruiser CNS Lhasa (102) and frigate CNS Weigang (550) were sighted sailing southeast in an area 31 miles southwest of the Kusagaki Islets and subsequently between Wednesday and Thursday, sailed east through the Osumi Strait, located between the main island Kyushu and Tanegashima Island, to enter the Pacific Ocean.
On Thursday, PLAN frigate CNS Yantai (538) and fleet oiler CNS Kekexilihu (903) were sighted sailing southeast in an area 74 miles northeast of Miyako Island and subsequently sailed south in the waters between Okinawa and Miyako Island to enter the Philippine Sea.
JMSDF destroyer JS Teruzuki (DD-116), frigate JS Noshiro (FFM-3), fast attack craft JS Otaka (PG-826) along with a JMSDF P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) of Fleet Air Wing 1 based at JMSDF Kanoya Air Base on the main island of Kyushu, shadowed the PLAN ships, according to the release.
In other developments, JMSDF destroyer JS Haguro (DDG-180) and Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG-42) carried out a one-day exercise named Nichi-Gou Trident 25 in the East China Sea on Sunday that involved the two ships carrying out tactical maneuvering, cross deck exercises and personnel exchanges, according to a JMSDF release. Sydney left Australia in late March for a Regional Presence Deployment scheduled to end in early July and from the middle of May to the end of May, was conducting monitoring and surveillance operations in the East China Sea against maritime sanctions violations by North Korea. The Australian destroyer is now docked at Yokosuka, Japan for rest and replenishment before continuing its deployment.
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