19 h. ago Investigations reveal combat stress a key factor in costly US Navy mishaps

New investigative reports into a series of high-profile and costly US Navy mishaps during a US-led campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels reveal that the most intense running sea battle that the military service has faced since World War II took a toll on ships and personnel. The four reports released on Thursday cover a “friendly fire” incident in December 2024 that saw the cruiser USS Gettysburg shoot at two fighter jets from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, downing one, as well as...

Economics

5 d. ago China’s Expanding Aircraft Carrier Capabilities: From a Carrier Gap to the Electric

China’s Expanding Aircraft Carrier Capabilities: From a Carrier Gap to the Electric-Catapult Age  orfonline.org

Transport

7 d. ago Trump spoke with Venezuela’s Maduro, discussed meeting in US, report says

US President Donald Trump spoke by phone last week with leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, with the two rivals discussing a possible meeting in the United States, The New York Times reported on Friday. The reported call comes as Trump’s administration piles pressure on Venezuela with a major military deployment in the Caribbean that includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier. Washington says the aim is curbing drug trafficking but Caracas insists regime change is the ultimate goal. The...

Politics

7 d. ago China Deploys Dual Aircraft Carriers in Historic Pacific Mission

China Deploys Dual Aircraft Carriers in Historic Pacific Mission  Maritime Fairtrade

Events

1 week ago China Sends Aircraft Carrier Group as a Warning to US and Allies

China Sends Aircraft Carrier Group as a Warning to US and Allies  Maritime Fairtrade

Events

1 week ago Venezuela? Trump’s real aim could be laying claim to the western hemisphere

On November 16, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier, sailed into the Caribbean to join Operation Southern Spear – the largest US military deployment in the Caribbean since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Donald Trump is, however, a very different president from John F. Kennedy. Whereas Kennedy endorsed the burden of American exceptionalism to “assure the survival and the success of liberty” at “any price” or “hardship”, Trump promises to prioritise “America...

Politics

1 week ago Top honours for engineers spotlight China’s gains in military technology

Key scientists behind China’s latest stealth fighter and aircraft carrier have been promoted to one of the country’s top scientific academies in recognition of their contributions to advances in military technology. The honours also highlight the global lead Chinese military technology has taken in a number of areas. Wang Yongqing, the chief designer and expert of the J-35A stealth fighter; Huang Weina, the lead designer of the WS-19 engine for the J-35 series; and Lu Junyong, a key researcher...

Events

1 week ago US aviation agency warns airlines flying over Venezuela of potential hazards

The US Federal Aviation Administration warned major airlines on Friday of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela and urged them to exercise caution. The FAA notice cited the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela” and said threats could pose risks for aircraft at all altitudes. There has been a massive American military build-up in the region in recent months, including the US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, at least eight...

Events

2 w. ago China’s EV parts could be in Tesla’s crosshairs – is a total ‘de

Tesla’s reported plan to stop using Chinese-made components in US-built cars aligns with a “significant strategy” in national industrial policy, with some American giants seeking to “completely de-risk” supply chains amid an increasingly tense geopolitical climate, an automotive executive said. Curt Hopkins, CEO of automotive investment platform MCQ Markets in Miami, said Tesla appeared to be “developing a completely dual strategy, where in the US they’re going to de-China, diversify and make...

Politics

2 w. ago China builds world’s first floating artificial island with nuclear

China is building a mega science infrastructure that could add fuel to the global maritime power race: a floating artificial island engineered to withstand nuclear blasts. This 78,000-tonne, semi-submersible twin-hull platform is world’s first mobile, self-sustaining artificial island. With a displacement rivalling the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s new Fujian aircraft carrier and the capacity to house 238 occupants for four months without resupply, the facility will be able to project...

Events

2 w. ago China’s Dual Aircraft Carrier Display: A Strategic Signal in the Pacific

China’s Dual Aircraft Carrier Display: A Strategic Signal in the Pacific  Maritime Fairtrade

Transport

2 w. ago China’s Fujian carrier completes first training exercise after entering service

China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, had returned to port following a training mission with its strike group, state media announced on Tuesday amid rising tensions with Japan. According to state broadcaster CCTV, the mission marked the “first maritime live-force training” for the world’s largest conventionally powered warship since it was commissioned to the PLA Navy on November 5. The Fujian, China’s first domestically designed carrier and its third overall, has a displacement of more...

Politics

2 w. ago China’s Fujian carrier completes first training shortly after entering service

China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has returned to port following a training mission with its strike group, according to a state media report on Tuesday amid rising tensions with Japan. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the mission marked the “first maritime live-force training” for the world’s biggest conventionally powered warship since it was commissioned to the PLA Navy on November 5. The Fujian, China’s first domestically designed carrier and its third overall, has a...

Politics

2 w. ago China’s military mouthpiece hits out at US ‘gunboat diplomacy’ over Venezuela

China’s official military newspaper has accused the United States of “gunboat diplomacy” amid rising tensions with Venezuela. The Pentagon announced on Sunday that a strike group including the US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, had been deployed to the Caribbean, carrying thousands of service personnel and dozens of aircraft. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had not ruled out sending US troops to Venezuela, while also expressing a willingness to engage in...

Events

2 w. ago China Issues Warning as US Aircraft Carrier Patrols Contested Waters

China Issues Warning as US Aircraft Carrier Patrols Contested Waters  Newsweek

Events

2 w. ago Chinese man who donated US$20 as child to aircraft carrier project visits fleet 26 years on

A man from southern China who donated 140 yuan (US$20) as a child to help build an aircraft carrier has seen his dream of the country becoming a stronger nation come true. To top his wish, in November, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation invited him to visit the carrier fleet and gave him a commemorative watch. Chen Yuwen, from Qinzhou city in Guangxi province, developed an early interest in the military, influenced by his father’s background as a soldier. In 1999, at just five years old,...

Society

2 w. ago US military says aircraft carrier strike group now in Caribbean

The US military announced on Sunday that an aircraft carrier strike group had arrived in the Caribbean, greatly expanding the presence of American forces near Venezuela. US President Donald Trump has ordered a troop build-up in the Caribbean as part of an anti-drug trafficking initiative but speculation has abounded that Washington may be contemplating military intervention against Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro. The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees American forces in Latin...

Events

2 w. ago Trump floats possible talks with Maduro as US strike group arrives in Caribbean

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US “may be having some discussions” with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a potential diplomatic avenue as the US further builds up its military presence near the South American country with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft carrier. Trump did not offer details about the possible discussions with Maduro, but he said “Venezuela would like to talk”. The development comes as the Trump administration has carried out a series of military...

Politics

2 w. ago How China’s Fujian aircraft carrier deceived US military experts at launch

It happens in an instant – your eyes register motion, your brain predicts what comes next and, in a split second, you think you understand what you are seeing. But what if that instinct is wrong? That happened when the world saw China’s most advanced warship, the Fujian, in action earlier this month. When a video was released on November 8 showing the carrier’s electromagnetic catapult firing in an empty launch, viewers saw the catapult accelerate down the deck with blinding force and then stop...

Events

2 w. ago South China Sea: how third PLA Navy aircraft carrier changes dynamics for US

When President Xi Jinping commissioned the Fujian on November 5, China became only the second nation to have an aircraft carrier with an electromagnetic catapult system. It is also notable that, last month, two navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz crashed into the South China Sea. These events crystallise a strategic reality often obscured by aggregate force comparisons: the relevant naval balance is not between the 11 US aircraft carriers and China’s three, but between what the United States can...

Transport