The USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, returned to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan on Friday (November 22) to carry out patrol missions in the waters near China. Its carrier air wing, CVW-5, returned to Japan a few days earlier, now featuring new additions to its fleet including the powerful F-35C stealth fighter and the CMV-22B Osprey aircraft.
CVW-5 is the fifth carrier air wing of the United States Navy. The four fighter squadrons of the wing completed a six-month deployment and returned to the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.
According to Naval News, CVW-5, as the carrier air wing of the George Washington, returned to Japan with three new members this time.
The first new addition is the Navy’s most powerful stealth fighter, the F-35C. The F-35C is the naval variant of the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter, serving as a cornerstone of the US aerial dominance. It comes with larger wing surface area, folding wings, and reinforced landing gear for carrier-based operations.
The inclusion of the F-35C provides the carrier strike group with a dominant multi-role fifth-generation fighter, enhancing the US military’s power projection and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. With the deployment of F-35B by the US Marine Corps and F-35A by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, having the F-35C with CVW-5 means all three advanced F-35 variants are now deployed in Japan.
The second new member of the fifth carrier air wing is the CMV-22B Osprey. This tilt-rotor aircraft is tasked with transporting supplies and personnel between carriers and land-based facilities. Unlike other V-22 variants, the CMV-22B is equipped with large fuel tanks, providing it with an attractive extended range capability.
Japanese media outlet Kyodo News reported that this marks the first deployment of the Navy transport aircraft CMV-22 “Osprey” and the cutting-edge stealth fighter F-35C in Japan by the US military.
The third new addition to the fifth carrier air wing is the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft. While CVW-5 has previously used the E-2D plane on the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the newly deployed model now features air-to-air refueling probes. This upgrade allows the E-2D to undertake longer missions compared to its previous versions.
“Our forward-deployed forces in Japan are among the most capable forces we have globally, a tangible symbol of the US commitment to Japan and the region’s security,” said Commander Greg Newkirk of the Task Force 70 and the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group.
The US Indo-Pacific Command stated that the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region demands the presence of the US Navy’s most capable ships and aircraft at the forefront. This posture enables rapid response times for maritime and joint forces, allowing our most capable ships to demonstrate maximum combat power and operational capability.