A US Navy carrier strike group is weirdly deploying without its aircraft carrier after it broke down

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https://www.businessinsider.com/navy...-breaks-2019-9

*Ships from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group are deploying without their
aircraft carrier after the flattop suffered a potentially serious electrical
malfunction in late August, the Navy said Thursday.

*Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, the US 2nd Fleet commander, characterized the latest
developments as "unfortunate" in talks with USNI News, which first reported the
news.

*The ships deploying have formed a Surface Action Group that Lewis insists is
"very capable" and ready "to do the nation's bidding in this great-power
competition."

*The Navy has not given an estimated completion time for the repair work, but it
has given assurances that "all efforts are being made to deploy the carrier and
air wing as soon as possible."

Ships from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group are deploying without their
carrier and accompanying air wing after the flattop suffered an unexpected
electrical problem that required maintenance, the Navy revealed Thursday
afternoon.

The destroyers Lassen, Farragut, and Forrest Sherman, along with the cruiser
Normandy, are expected to set sail from their homeports in Norfolk, Virginia,
and Mayport, Florida, in the near future. These ships will be accompanied by
helicopters from Helicopter Maritime Squadron 72 out of Naval Air Station
Jacksonville in Florida. The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, however, will
remain behind.

The move is unusual. Normally, if a carrier is down for maintenance or some
other reason, it will simply be replaced with another carrier. But the East
Coast carrier fleet is short a suitable alternative in the inventory because of
maintenance backlogs and delivery delays, among other issues.

In late August, the Truman aircraft carrier experienced an "electrical
malfunction within the ship's electrical distribution system requiring analysis
and repair," a US Fleet Forces Command spokesman, Capt. Scott Miller, told USNI
News, which first reported the news of both the electrical issue and the unusual
deployment.

Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, the US 2nd Fleet commander, characterized the latest
developments as "unfortunate" in talks with USNI News. "The situation with
Truman frankly is unfortunate," he told the naval-affairs outlet. "Obviously,
we're working really hard to fix it, and we will fix it, but it's unfortunate —
nobody wanted that to happen certainly."

The Navy on Thursday said "repairs are progressing and all efforts are being
made to deploy the carrier and air wing as soon as possible." But, as there are
still unknowns surrounding the issue, it is unclear when the Truman will be
ready to sail.




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