aircraft carrier

Look Around the UK’s Newest Aircraft Carrier

No, that’s not the world’s biggest slab of marble; it’s the wet landing deck of the UK’s newest aircraft carrier. This 360 degree panoramic image, that you can drag and pull around on your screen, will let you explore the HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) as if you were there. The largest warship ever built for…

These videos of airplanes launching from aircraft carriers are badass

Once again, the French Navy shows they make the best airplane videos there are. This one shows the flight deck operations onboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles DeGaulle. Although I would have preferred no soundtrack, it helps that, instead of using dubstep, they slapped in AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. Plus,I love the Rafale. For comparison, here’s a…

NASA Captured the Lonely Last Journey of an Aircraft Carrier

This is the loneliest funeral march I’ve ever seen. This photo from November 5th was taken during a NASA mission called Operation IceBridge, the goal of which is to survey polar ice. But it also captured the aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CV-64), a Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier being towed by comparatively tiny tugboats. The Constellation is…

Sometimes even giants need a little tenderness. Just look at the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transiting the Elizabeth River, at Portsmouth, Va., shepherded by four tiny tugboats. The huge vessel was photographed en route to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, on November 5th. [Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Justin R. Pacheco/U.S. Navy]

Video: F-35 lands on an aircraft carrier for the first time ever

The US Navy variant of the F -35 Lightning II has landed aboard an aircraft carrier for the first time ever. This arrested landing by Navy test pilot Cmdr. Tony Wilson on the USS Nimitz marks a new two-week period of testing at sea. Watch it from multiple angles: According to Wilson: “Today is a…

This is how they remove crashed airplanes off an aircraft carrier deck

A cool photo of a crash crane lifting a damaged Harrier jet off the deck of the US Navy’s amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge. The crash and salvage team regularly practice this kind of operations in case of an airplane crash. That crane is surprisingly huge—just look at the guy in the cabin and the…

Here’s a tiny fraction of the power of the mightiest navy in the world

Here’s the nuclear aircraft supercarrier USS Nimitz—the lead ship of its class—exhibiting a tiny fraction of its air power in a December 7 photograph taken over the Pacific Ocean. The US Navy has ten more of these nuclear titans, plus another ten carriers for amphibious assault. And then, here’s a brief list of the squadrons…

Taking off from an aircraft carrier can be insanely dangerous too

If you thought that only landings were hard on aircraft carriers, David Cenciotti at the Avioationist found this photo an E-2 Hawkeye launching through a wave, just as “the ship’s bow lowered.” I’d imagine that they time the launch so the bow goes back up at the precise moment when the plane leaves the carrier,…

US Navy’s new carrier kind of looks like a Star Destroyer from the back

We have seen a lot of its bow, but check out this unique view of the stern of the USS Gerald Ford—the first unit of America’s new aircraft carrier class. It’s surprising to see the new location of the island and how wide the stern is. Oh, and it kind of looks kind of Star…

Night vs. Day Aircraft Carrier Landings in One Harrowing Video

YouTube user Carl Vause recently uploaded a side-by-side shot of two identical aircraft carrier landings—one during the light of day and one in pitch black. The result is absolutely stunning. Inspired by similar side-by-side surgical videos, Vause got the idea to combine the two S-3 Viking landings from 1997 in hopes of offering even a…

Navy Wants Aircraft Carriers to Manufacture Weapons On the Go

These days, the mention of 3D-printed weapons conjures up visions of people printing AK-47s in their garages (ok, that might just be me). But a recent story in the Armed Forces Journal brings word of a more systematic implementation of 3D-printed warfare. According to one Lieutenant Commander Michael Llenza, the Navy’s future lies in converting…

What Is Happening to This Aircraft Carrier?

The U.S. Navy just released this stunning photo of sailors participating in a flight deck scrubbing exercise aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), a Nimitz-class supercarrier that is currently undergoing sea trials. But what the hell are they scrubbing? Is the carrier caught in a blizzard? No, that is not snow. In this exercise,…

This Is Why the US Navy Is the Most Formidable Naval Force In the World

Here’s a rare sight: four out of the ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers—the largest warships ever built—plus an Enterprise-class carrier docked together. They are resting at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, which coincidentally is the largest naval base in the world. Look at all that engineering and firepower. And it’s only half of the Nimitz fleet! The…

China’s First Aircraft Carrier Claims Its First Victim (Sort Of)

Our frenemies across the Pacific are now a naval superpower, having successfully landed a Chinese jet on a Chinese aircraft carrier for the first time. And it’s lethal—the guy in charge dropped dead in the middle of it. We’re not doctors here, so we can’t exactly say the J-15 literally killed Luo Yang, President of…

What Battlestar Galactica gets right (and wrong) about space warfare

We loved Battlestar Galactica’s nuanced approach to foreign affairs, wartime politics, and classicism, but how likely is it that its portrayal of a futuristic aircraft carrier will translate into our spacefaring military future? Foreign Policy interviewed naval analyst and former U.S. Naval War College research professor Chris Weuve about how science fiction has influenced military…

Wyoming Wants Their Own Currency, a Draft, and a Freaking Aircraft Carrier In case of Doomsday

Breaking news: Politicians in Wyoming have way too much time on their hands. Having run out of things to whittle, State Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, has introduced House Bill 85, which calls for a whole list of batshit crazy things. The bill, which passed an initial voice-vote, would create a state-run government continuity task force…

Toilet Trouble on Navy Carrier Leaves 5000 Sailors Doing the Pee Pee Dance

Remember when your dad would’t pull the car over so you could go to the bathroom? Now imagine that your dad is the Navy and that the car is aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). Turns out the 423 toilets on the Navy’s latest ship aren’t ready to report for duty. The Navy Times reports…

China’s Tacky Luxurious Aircraft Carrier Is Perfect for Karaoke Nights

This is not the interior of China’s Shi Lang, the recently refurbished Soviet aircraft carrier formerly known as the Varyag. It is another Chinese carrier, also a refurbished Soviet vessel: the Kiev. It’s absolutely horrible. https://gizmodo.com/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-is-sailing-5829480 Built at the beginning of the 70s, the Kiev served in the Soviet and Russian navies from 1975 to…

China’s Second Aircraft Carrier Is a Hotel

China’s first aircraft carrier recently set sail in full military regalia. Its second aircraft carrier will serve a more humble purpose as a floating hotel. https://gizmodo.com/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-is-sailing-5829480 The retired Soviet ship is stationed at the Tianjin Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park. It’s too old to serve as a military vessel so the owners turned the ship…

The Least Subtle Weapon in the History of Weapons

What do you do when your little island nation is under the constant implied threat of military annihilation from China, and China launches its first ever aircraft carrier? Debut your fancy new aircraft carrier-destroying missile. Complete with scary artwork! https://gizmodo.com/chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-is-sailing-5829480 Taiwan, completely coincidentally of course, revealed their Hsiung Feng III “aircraft carrier killer” missile to…