US aircraft carrier's Indo-Pacific deployment begins

The Yokosuka-based aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan officially began its Indo-Pacific deployment this week, the US Navy has said in a statement.

More than 1,000 tonnes of ordnance, 5,000 crew and more than 60 aircraft were moved aboard the carrier for the deployment, the Navy said.

Its crew completed phased sequestrations before embarking the ship to mitigate the chance of bringing coronavirus-positive sailors on board.

"The (restriction-of-movement) period allowed the fleet leadership the ability to monitor the health of the force in a controlled facility and build a safe environment for sailors to accomplish assigned missions at sea," the statement said.

Like the Blue Ridge, the USS Ronald Reagan is unlikely to make port visits so soon after the virus sidelined aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt for nearly two months this spring, according to an April 22 report.

An outbreak among a few Roosevelt sailors in March led to more than 1,150 of their shipmates testing positive for coronavirus.