Flight deck personnel aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson’s (CVN 70) prepare for flight operations while transiting the South China Sea. Credit: Petty Officer 3rd Class Richard Cho/US Navy.

The US Navy’s Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG) and the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 have conducted operations in the South China Sea.

The latest mission marks the first-time operation of the CSG with F-35C Lightning II supersonic multirole fighter and Navy CMV-22B Osprey long-range tiltrotor aircraft platforms in the region.

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It is aimed at promoting the free and open use of Indo-Pacific waters to support security and regional stability.

VINCSG is providing fleet commanders with the ability to project power in new ways, while CVW 2 uses advanced and layered effects.

Before entering the South China Sea, VINCSG and CVW-2 conducted joint interoperability operations with UK CSG 21 and participated in Large Scale Exercise (LSE) 2021.

VINCSG commander rear admiral Dan Martin said: “When we deployed, we brought with us the unprecedented stealth, electronic warfare and vertical lift capabilities of the Air Wing of the Future and these platforms have delivered.

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“Integrating emerging technologies to enhance capabilities and improve effectiveness has long been fundamental to strike group operations and using the new tools and technology of the Air Wing of the Future, to include the new sets of multispectral sensors and the information they provide, have increased our lethality and survivability.”

According to the US Navy, VINCSG comprises over 7,000 sailors, who are capable of carrying out a broad range of global missions.

In February this year, two carrier strike groups conducted joint exercises in the South China Sea amid rising tensions with China.

As a part of this dual-carrier operations, the Theodore Roosevelt CSG and the Nimitz CSG undertook a multitude of exercises to increase interoperability.

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