Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt Arrives in Japan Ahead of Keen Sword Exercise  

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) and destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73) docked at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) at 9.20 a.m. local time on Friday ahead of its participation in exercise Keen Sword 27.

Theodore Roosevelt is the first non-Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Japan (FDNF-J) carrier in four years to dock in CFAY since USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in 2022. The Yokosuka City Council also noted that this is the first time Roosevelt has visited the port.

The CSG is pulling in to conduct routine maintenance and resupply and confirmed that the strike group will participate in Keen Sword, according to the Navy.

“While in Yokosuka, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9 will engage in professional exchanges with counterparts from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) to align tactical procedures and strengthen bilateral integration alongside preparations for Keen Sword 2027,” reads the statement.

Keen Sword is a biennial bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Japan but other countries are invited to participate actively or as observers in the drills. Japan will deploy 45,000 personnel, 6,100 vehicles, 40 ships and 260 aircraft for the exercise. In past years, the exercise has been led by a forward-deployed carrier with USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) leading Keen Sword 23 in 2022 and USS George Washington (CVN-73) in 2024 leading Keen Sword 25. George Washington, which is forward-deployed and homeported in CFAY, is currently operating in U.S. Central Command.

The visit comes at a time with a chill in U.S.-Japanese relations following the arrest of an Okinawa-based Marine for the alleged robbery and murder of a Japanese woman. Yokosuka Mayor Katsuaki Kamiji asked the Ministry of Defense on Oct. 7 to convey to the U.S. the importance of crew members fully understand the rules and manners expected in Japan and conduct themselves in an appropriate and responsible manner. Japan’s Foreign Ministry have said that personnel from the CSG will be under regulations established by U.S. Forces Japan and U.S. Commander Naval Forces Japan regarding liberty calls.

Before the port visit, commanders emphasized to crews that they are expected to uphold good order and discipline, comply with the liberty policy, and treat their Japanese hosts with respect, according to a U.S. Navy release.

“Our time in Yokosuka allows us to experience the incredible warmth and hospitality of our hosts,” Rear Adm. Marcos Jasso, commander, CSG-9, said in the release. “The U.S.-Japan Alliance serves as the cornerstone of peace and security across the region. Every engagement with our JMSDF allies and the Japan community deepens the mutual trust vital to keeping this region free and open, especially as we transition to complex bilateral operations during Keen Sword.”

Theodore Roosevelt is deployed with Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) Seahawk. On Wednesday, in a panel discussion on Autonomous Warfare that was led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at AUSA, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao highlighted that the Theodore Roosevelt CSG deployed with an MUSV.

“This is the first carrier strike group to ever deploy with a large sized unmanned surface vessel, and this is a force multiplier,” said Cao, according to a Pentagon transcript.

USNI News reported that Theodore Roosevelt CSG deployed out from San Diego on Sept. 27.

Japanese public release documents on Keen Sword have not mentioned activities to be carried out by the CSG or Seahawk during the exercise.

Oct. 19-20, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will conduct an integrated live-fire exercise using the firing range on the uninhabited island of Oki Daito in the Philippine Sea. Two JGSDF AH-64D helicopters operating from a JMSDF task force consisting of a Hyuga-class helicopter destroyer, a destroyer and a Mogami-class frigate will carry out live firing together with four JASDF F-2 fighter aircraft. A JMSDF Shield AI MQ-35 V-BAT Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will provide observation support for the live fire drill.

The JMSDF only recently began conducting operational training with the V-BAT. The JMSDF Surface Fleet Command shared a video in July on its social media account of V-BAT training on frigate JS Kumano (FFM-2).

A one-day U.S.-led demonstration of Taiwan-based STR8’s Ghostwake Unmanned Surface Vessel is planned to take place sometime from Oct. 19-23 in the waters off White Beach, Okinawa, with the USV demonstrating its autonomous at-sea surveillance capabilities. The JMSDF will participate as observers in the demonstration while the U.S. will be represented by the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment and Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron (USVRON) 7.

The 12th MLR called off a planned drill to use the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel (ALPV) to deliver supplies from Shibushi Port, located in Kagoshima Prefecture on the southwest coast of the main island of Kyushu, to three different locations on Tanegashima Island. The planned activity was included in documents on Keen Sword that were released on Oct. 2 but on Oct.7, the Kagoshima prefectural government said the planned activity was cancelled.