Two Japanese ships steam alongside Kitty Hawk (CV 63) during multinational exercises.
Summary
At sea aboard USS Kitty Hawk Two Japanese ships steam alongside Kitty Hawk during a Photo Exercise. Japanese ships integrated into Kitty Hawks battle group during Exercise Keen Sword 2003. Keen Sword 2003 is the seventh in a series of regularly scheduled joint/bilateral field training exercise since 1986 involving the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and United States military. The purpose of Keen Sword is to train and evaluate wartime functions and bilateral cooperation procedures against the backdrop of a regional contingency scenario that has direct and immediate consequences to the U.S. and Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 3rd Class Todd Frantom. File# 021116-N-1810F-009
Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for carrier-based aircraft. In the United States Navy, these consist of ships commissioned with hull classification symbols CV (aircraft carrier), CVA (attack aircraft carrier), CVB (large aircraft carrier), CVL (light aircraft carrier), CVN (aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion) and CVAN (attack aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion). The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the United States Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922.