US Navy's aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan operates in the South China Sea.

According to information published by the U.S. DoD on July 13, 2022, the Ronald Reagan, Carrier Strike Group is operating in the South China Sea for the first time during its 2022 deployment.
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The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (Picture source: U.S. DoD)

The carrier strike group includes the Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, and embarked staffs of Task Force 70 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, as well as the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76).

While in the South China Sea, the strike group is conducting maritime security operations, which include flight operations with fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, maritime strike exercises, and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units. Carrier operations in the South China Sea are part of the U.S. Navy’s routine operations in the Indo-Pacific.

The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. Several countries have made competing territorial claims over the South China Sea. Such disputes have been regarded as Asia's most potentially dangerous point of conflict.

About the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) is a Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered supercarrier in the service of the United States Navy. She was built at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, and was commissioned on 12 July 2003.

The aircraft carrier has a length of 1092 feet (332.8 m), a beam of 252 ft (76.8 m), and a draft of 37 feet (11.3 m). She can reach a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).

The USS Ronald Reagan can carry a total of 90 fixed-wing helicopters. The weapon systems of the CVN-76 include 16–24 × RIM-7 Sea Sparrow air defense missile and Phalanx CIWS for defense against airborne threats such as anti-ship missiles and helicopters or RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile.