Us navy

The US Navy consists of the Regular Navy and the Naval Reserve. The Regular Navy consists of officers and enlisted personnel who have elected to make the naval service a lifetime career. The Naval Reserve is to provide qualified individuals and trained units to be available for active duty in time of war or national emergency.

The term "Department of the Navy" is synonymous with the term "Naval Establishment." It is construed to mean the Navy Department, the United States Marine Corps; the entire Operating Forces of the US Navy, including naval aviation, and the reserve components of such forces; all HQ, forces, bases and installations, under the control or supervision of the Secretary of the Navy and the US Coast Guard when operating as part of the Navy.

The DN consists of the principal parts as follows:

The Operating Forces (OF) of the Navy, which comprise the several fleets, seagoing forces, sea frontier forces, the Military Sea Transportation Service and such shore activities of the Navy and other forces as may be assigned to the OF of the Navy by the President or the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV).

The aircraft carrier

The history of carriers goes back almost as far as airplanes. In 1910, only seven years after Orville Wright made the first machine-powered flight, naval aviators began experiments taking off from and loading on battleships. Carriers played a small role in World War 1, but they were central to the air combat of World War 2 and since 1945 they have been involved in almost all major US military operations.

At present, only ten countries possess carriers but the super carriers, or flattops, of the US Navy are the biggest in the world. With a crew of up to 6,000 people onboard, and with a length from bow to stern the size of three football pitches, the nuclear-powered Nimitz carriers can transport up to 80 aircraft, launch or land a plane every 25 seconds and generate between 140 and 160 sorties per day. A speed of more than 35 knots per hour, approximately 700 nautical miles per day, gives the United States the ability to deploy military forces to almost anywhere in the world in less than two weeks.

Carriers are open to attack from enemy ships, missiles and aircraft. For this reason, carriers are always escorted by a flotilla of other ships, called the carrier battle group (CBG). The CBG is capable of carrying out anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-surface defence warfare. Although the CBG is formed according to the mission, a typical formation includes: the aircraft carrier; two guided-missile cruisers; two destoyers; one frigate; two submarines and a supply ship.

3.	Answer the questions.

1. In which year did the first machine-powered flight take place?

2. What is another word for aircraft carrier?

3. How many aircraft can a super carrier transport?

4. Why do carriers move as part of a carrier battle group?

5. What types of ships are there in a typical carrier battle group?

4.	Match the words with the definitions.

aviator

bow

flotilla

knot

sortie

stern

1. Another word for pilot. ______

2. The front of a ship. ______

3. The back of a ship. ______

4. An operational flight by one aircraft. ______

5. A unit of speed for ships and aircraft. ______

6. A group of ships. ______

5.



Work in pairs. Discuss the questions.

1. Do you think carriers in the future will be bigger or smaller?

2. What kind of weapons do you think they will carry?

3. Do you think they will have a smaller crew or a bigger crew?

Now read the text and check your answers.

The US Navy is currently building the next class of nuclear-powered super carrier, but naval engineers are already thinking about the future. The Navy is obviously secretive about future carrier technology but some developments are predictable. Firstly, future carriers will definitely have a smaller crew as many tasks on board will be carried out by machines. They will almost certainly use stealth technology, including materials and shapes that make it difficult for the enemy to detect the ship.

It is also likely that they will include new weapons systems. These new weapons might include direct energy weapons, including lasers to shoot down enemy planes and missiles, and radio frequency weapons that will be able to destroy enemy electronic systems. Future carriers will probably include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in their air squadrons. UAVs are small planes that can carry sensors and weapons that are controlled by a ground station instead of being flown by a pilot. One advantage of UAVs is that future carriers probably won’t be as large or expensive as the current super carriers.

6.



Work in pairs. Put the predictions in order of probability.

Future carriers will:

Have a smaller crew.

Use stealth technology.

Have new weapons systems.

Have laser weapons.

Carry UAVs.

Be smaller.

7.	Choose one topic. Write three predictions.

infantry soldier

tanks

helicopters

fighter

aircraft

submarines

8.



Describe the picture.