▲ The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is docked at Pearl Harbor on July 6 (local time) to participate in the 2026 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world's largest multinational maritime exercise led by the United States.
"When we head out to sea, it is like moving 4.5 acres of U.S. territory; we are operating a 'floating city.' It is truly massive in scale."
On July 6 (local time), Captain William Mathis, commanding officer of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, introduced the colossal vessel he is responsible for while standing on its flight deck.
Living up to the captain's description of a "floating city," the Roosevelt, currently docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, overwhelmed onlookers with its sheer size.
As the fourth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy, the Roosevelt measures 332.8 meters in length and 76.8 meters in height, with a displacement of 104,600 tons.
With a flight deck nearly three times the size of a soccer field, it is often nicknamed a "military base at sea."
The closer one gets to the Roosevelt, the more real its scale becomes.
Standing in front of the ship, its massive steel hull blocked out the Hawaiian sky, casting a shadow that seemed to stretch on endlessly behind it.
The Roosevelt is currently docked at Pearl Harbor to participate in the 2026 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, the world's largest U.S.-led multinational maritime training event.
About 30 surface ships from 30 participating nations have joined this year's RIMPAC, but even the massive warships representing other countries looked like small boats when docked next to the Roosevelt.
The Roosevelt is the largest asset participating in RIMPAC.
The carrier can house up to 5,000 personnel, including approximately 3,000 ship crew members and 2,000 aviation personnel.
Inside, it functions like a small city, equipped with various amenities such as a hospital, sports facilities, and a museum.
The interior of the Roosevelt is a maze of countless stairs and corridors.
Because of its immense size, even the crew members often find it easy to get lost if they are outside their assigned working areas.
After navigating through about 10 maze-like corridors and ladder-style stairs, one reaches the vast flight deck.
On the flight deck, which is three times the size of a soccer field, about 20 aircraft—including F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters, F-35C fighters, and E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft—were securely fastened with steel chains.
During navigation, the flight deck serves as a runway, launching fighter jets anytime and anywhere.
The aircraft on the flight deck are not the only ones on board.
The hangar also contained rows of aviation assets, including F/A-18 Super Hornets and MH-60 Seahawks.
The Roosevelt can carry and sail with up to 90 aircraft at once.
For this year's RIMPAC, the Roosevelt has also integrated unmanned systems, which have emerged as "game changers" in modern warfare.
Captain Mathis met with reporters that day and stated, "We have participated in this exercise with unmanned surface vehicles, and we plan to operate them together during the RIMPAC training."
While he did not specify the types or roles of the unmanned surface vehicles, they appear to be used for attack, surveillance, reconnaissance, and search-and-rescue missions.
More than 30 tests related to unmanned systems are scheduled to take place during this year's RIMPAC.
Rear Admiral Susan BryerJoyner, commander of the RIMPAC Combined Task Force and deputy commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet, said during a RIMPAC press briefing that day, "The integration of unmanned systems is one of the most exciting aspects of this year's RIMPAC," adding, "We are learning and testing together with partner nations on how to combine manned and unmanned platforms into a powerful combat and defense force."
The South Korean Navy is also pursuing the introduction of a "Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) Carrier," often referred to as a "drone carrier."
This is a measure to strengthen unmanned capabilities after canceling plans for a light aircraft carrier that focused primarily on manned aircraft operations. The Navy plans to introduce a drone carrier of approximately 30,000 tons by the late 2030s.
The Navy plans to utilize the drone carrier as a platform to command and control dozens or hundreds of various drones, including unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), surveillance and reconnaissance UAVs, attack UAVs, and suicide drones.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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