USA og Japan øver nær Okinawa

Det du ser under er en tradisjonell US Task Force med USS George Washington i spissen og et japansk helikopterhangarskip på dens babord side.

Led by the huge Nimitz-class carrier, this year's AnnualEX 2013 war games brought together dozens of warships from both navies to test their ability to work effectively in a volatile region.

With over 5,000 crew and 80 aircraft, the USS George Washington is the U.S. Navy's only carrier deployed permanently outside the United States.

AnnualEx is designed to increase the defensive readiness and interoperability of U.S. naval forces and their Japanese counterparts.

The Japanese task force, commanded by Vice Admiral Yasushi Matsushita, featured many of its own state-of-the-art vessels, including this Hyūga-class helicopter carrier.

Some 23 vessels from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-defense force were involved in the drills in Japanese waters.

The U.S. contingent also includes guided missile cruisers and guided missile destroyers.

AnnualEx 2013 is taking place at a time of rising tensions in the region, with Japan and China at the center.

Many of the carrier's aircraft are there solely to protect the strike fleet.

HIDE CAPTION

Jewel in U.S. Navy's Asian crown

Super carrier's cutting edge

Ground control

Primed for action

Commanding the fleet

Attention on deck

Air armada

Japanese partners at sea

Close formation

Seek and destroy

War games underway

Heavy protection

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• USS George Washington in huge naval exercise -- AnnualEx 2013 -- off Okinawa
• CNN reporter aboard carrier as dozens of warships, subs and aircraft take part
• This year's games held against backdrop of tension after China imposes new air zone
• China announced a new Air Defense Identification Zone, angering U.S. and Japan

USS George Washington, East China Sea (CNN) -- The deafening roar of state-of-the-art warplanes being catapulted into the air from its huge flight deck signaled that the USS George Washington was back in combat mode after its recent detour to the Philippines to take part in the aid effort in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Barely a week on and the 90,000-ton Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is now patrolling waters off the island of Okinawa as part a huge naval exercise -- AnnualEx 2013 -- involving dozens of warships, submarines and aircraft from the U.S. Navy's 7th fleet and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

The aim? To provide a stern test of their ability to effectively and mutually respond to the defense of Japan or to a regional crisis or contingency situation in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, according to the U.S. Navy.

But this year's war games have taken on an added dimension given the high-pressure atmosphere in the region at present -- they take place in the shadow of a controversial new Air Defense Identification Zone announced by the Chinese last weekend