A helicopter and a fighter jet went down in separate incidents while operating from a U.S. aircraft carrier on Sunday, the Navy said. The crews were rescued.

China’s newest aircraft carrier may only be able to conduct air operations at about 60% the rate of a 50-year-old US Navy carrier, two former US carrier officers say, a substantial combat limitation for a vessel meant to revolutionize Beijing’s fleet.

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by announcing the deployment of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America — a show of force far beyond any past counter-narcotics effort and Washington’s most assertive move in the region yet.

The $12.9 billion warship named for former President Gerald R. Ford, who was raised in Grand Rapids, stretches 4.5 acres and is the first of the Navy's next generation of aircraft carriers.