March 10, 200521 yr From Navy Times Fallon seeks quick agreement on Kitty Hawk replacement Associated Press (Kyodo) The commander of U.S armed forces in the Pacific told Congress on Wednesday he wants to reach an early agreement with Japan on a replacement of the retiring Japan-based aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. ”I’d like to have some agreement on the issue with Japan,” Adm. William Fallon, commander of the Hawaii-based Pacific Command, told a House of Representatives Armed Services Committee hearing. With the Kitty Hawk slated for retirement in 2008, Congress is urging the military to quickly set out an overall naval deployment plan to offset China’s growing naval power in the Pacific. The Navy wants to replace the Kitty Hawk with a nuclear-powered carrier, a move opposed by some local communities in Japan concerned about hosting nuclear-powered vessels. Commissioned in 1961, the 83,960-ton Kitty Hawk is the oldest U.S. active aircraft carrier and has been based at Yokosuka Naval Fleet Activities since July 1998.
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