Aircraft Carrier: Guardian of the Seas (2016) Movie Script

1
They have assembled here
from the four corners of the earth.
Fifty-five warships.
Among them, the newest and most
sophisticated ever produced.
The United States is here,
Great Britain, India, Japan,
Canada, France,
Australia, Germany.
Twenty-six nations altogether.
Each will introduce the latest naval
technology in their arsenals.
Twenty-two thousand
men and women
will be tested
over the coming month,
across a vast expanse of ocean
covering thousands of square miles.
Have a great weekend.
The command center
and flagship of the operation
is the nuclear-powered
supercarrier,
a marvel of modern engineering.
The operation is called
rim of the pacific,
the world's largest and most
complex naval exercise.
It will be as close to actual
warfare as is peacefully possible.
They began to appear nearly 5,000
years ago in the mediterranean sea.
They were the largest and most glorious
moving objects known to mankind.
Powered by oars,
their tactics were simple.
They rammed
and sank enemy ships.
Aahh!
Soldiers on board carried
only bows, arrows and Spears,
yet great battles ensued.
Raging for weeks, there was often
the loss of hundreds of ships
and thousands of men.
For centuries to come, navies
with the best-trained crews,
the bravest commanders, and the mightiest
warships would rule the world.
The modern supercarrier remains
at sea for months at a time,
and is home for over
5,000 personnel.
A virtual city at sea.
All right, con. Let's go.
Let's go 3-6-0.
Let's go 15 knots.
That'll get us into the box on time.
Aye, sir.
The captain is from
an elite group
that has over 25 years
of naval aviation experience.
Territorial waters over there, right?
We gotta...
Hey, so, just let the helos know
territorial waters are only
eight miles to the east.
Yup. Thanks.
Okay.
Con, left steer, course 1-7-5.
Con, left steer,
course 1-7-5, aye.
Conning officer, my rudder is left two
degrees, coming into course 1-7-5.
Ninety-two fixed-wing
aircraft and helicopters
are readied for a month
of intense flight ops
as demanding as combat itself.
Those wearing green shirts
maintain airframes and engines.
Red shirts are responsible
for ammo and weapons.
Popeye symbolizes
the Navy as a strength.
You think of popeye, and you think
of a really strong, you know,
us sailor that you want
to represent yourself as.
And I think we all use him
as a role model today.
Purple shirts, or grapes,
fuel the aircraft.
Aircrew are now Manning up for the event
seven, case three launch, case three recovery.
The temperature is 68 degrees;
The altimeter, 2-9-9-6;
and the density altitude,
940 feet.
On the fod walk,
crews are looking for anything
that might get sucked into an
engine as the aircraft take off.
Pilots have been killed by
almost invisible nuts and bolts.
Nuclear-powered carriers
have almost unlimited range,
like sailing ships of the past.
Two centuries ago, sail-powered
galleons with a hundred guns
emerged on the high seas to fight
at battles like trafalgar.
The French and Spanish
were the superior force.
Led by Napoleon, they were
thought to be invincible.
But the British commander
Horatio Nelson
had innovative tactics
and was more aggressive.
Cannonballs fired at close range
inflicted a terrible carnage.
Nearly 8,000 sailors
were killed on both sides.
The French and Spanish
lost 22 ships.
The British lost none.
Nelson, though he was killed,
became a legend, along
with his flagshipvictory.
From the triumph at trafalgar
grew a worldwide British empire
that would last another century.
Control of the high seas
requires a mastery
of the most advanced
possible technology.
Deep in the heart of the ship
sit two uranium-powered
nuclear reactors.
Essentially miniature suns,
these radioactive furnaces
boil water
to create high-pressure steam
that spins giant turbines.
The carrier's eight
electric generators
could easily power
a city of 100,000 people.
Using massive
reduction gearboxes,
the turbines also turn
four mammoth propeller shafts
that drive the ship
at around 35 knots.
Its top speed
remains highly classified.
With regular maintenance,
they can run continuously
without refueling for 20 years.
Teamwork, collaboration,
camaraderie,
staying mentally
and physically fit,
are all critical among the crew
of a smooth-running ship.
Every one of the 5,212 personnel
is integral in the success
of the operation.
Do a nice, easy turn.
Don't thrust or pull.
No tiny detail
is left to chance.
Does that make sense?
Absolutely. Okay, cool.
Roger that.
Deck patrol, 2-11 needs
to be spotted off cat one.
Blue shirts position and secure
the aircraft on the deck,
making sure they are presented
for launch in the right order.
Training has been continuous
since the very first carriers
were launched
more than a century ago.
The battle group commander
is responsible
for the coordination
of all 26 nations
during the exercise.
Yeah, that's true. I mean,
we had ships from Italy...
Patience, communication,
and diplomacy
were not the hallmarks
of legendary admirals,
but in an increasingly complex and
lethal world, they are critical.
People want to participate,
and they want to help,
and give their navies
a chance to shine.
Came around on track, sir. Previously reported
contacts now on our port bow drawing left.
Recommend maintain, sir.
No. I think what I want to do
is come a little bit more
to starboard, and, uh...
It's starting to merge through the fog. Let's
get through this. Come up at speed 20 knots.
The Japanese on the starboard, and
then the Canadians are coming up...
They're just behind us, right?
Uh, yes, sir.
The carrier, as the flagship,
is responsible for getting 55
vessels from all over the world
organized and sailing together
in reasonable order.
Delta, bravo...
Seven hours per day.
It's a big beacon.
It's, uh, distance...
2,500 kilometers from...
This kind of
international cooperation
was inconceivable
even a hundred years ago.
By the beginning
of the 20th century,
the giant guns of dreadnoughts,
or battleships,
would dwarf
the cannons of trafalgar.
As the first world war began,
britain had a significant edge
over Germany
in both ships and guns,
and did not expect
to be challenged.
But in June of 1916,
250 British and German ships
engaged off the coast
of jutland in the north sea.
It would come to be known as the
greatest battleship duel of all time.
Fourteen British and eleven
German ships were sunk.
8,500 young men were killed.
The age of the battleship
had come to an end
in less than two hours
of fighting.
Modern defense systems are
evolving at an accelerating pace,
questioning the wisdom
of expensive new procurement,
challenging the status quo.
The goal of rimpac is, in part,
to test and integrate advances
in weapons technology.
It gives crews a chance
to perfect their skills
under battle-like conditions.
The operation of an aircraft
carrier is, in itself,
nearly as dangerous
as actual combat,
and everyone on board
is well aware of that.
Easy with it now. Easy with it.
Easy with it. Easy with it.
Modern fighter aircraft,
like the f-18 super hornet,
can lock on
and intercept enemy aircraft
long before visual contact,
yet they still
carry machine guns
that look like they might belong
on a world war I biplane.
Even in an age
of advanced missiles,
pilots must still prepare
for the unlikely prospect
of an old-fashioned dogfight.
Launching a 37,000-pound
f-18 super hornet
off a carrier may look simple,
but bad weather, enemy fire,
and accidents
all contribute
to very real danger.
After a century
of trial and error,
one launch system
has proved robust and reliable.
Below deck are tanks
of high-pressure steam
from the
nuclear-powered boilers.
They provide explosive
expansion power to pistons
sitting in 300-foot-long tubes.
Like shells waiting
in the barrel of a gun.
Once released,
the power of the piston
can launch an aircraft
with the force of four g's,
catapulting the plane
from zero to 160 miles an hour
in just three seconds.
Every role on board is critical
to the exquisite ballet
of launch and recovery.
Heads up!
As exciting as the
steam-powered catapult launch
is for the fighter pilot,
a safe landing is even better.
An aircraft's tailhook must snag
one of four arresting cables.
This braided wire weaves
900 feet through the carrier
down to an arrestor engine.
As the momentum of the plane
pulls on the cable,
a huge piston forces
hydraulic fluid in one tank
against air in another,
compressing the air up to
400 pounds per square inch...
Stopping the aircraft and pilot
in just two seconds.
The comforting embrace
of the arresting cable
is regarded as among the most euphoric
experiences in all of aviation.
Japanese on the starboard, normandyin
front. That looks pretty good.
All right. And the submarines.
Who can find the submarines?
Always...
It's always the submarines.
The great strength of the
submarine is its stealth.
Annoying to its friends,
lethal to its enemies.
We still need one more
submarine to find.
Yes, sir. I'm still waiting on the t.A.
To call back. All right...
Also at rimpac is the new
Virginia class submarine.
It is 377 feet long
and 34 feet wide.
Speed can exceed 25 knots
and potentially over 30.
Onboard, crew number 120
enlisted men and women
and 14 officers.
- Range 4-1-0 yards.
- Very well.
The nuclear propulsion system
produces 40,000 horsepower.
Safety sweep. A
modern nuclear sub
could stay underwater
almost indefinitely,
like an aircraft carrier
limited only by
its on board supply of food.
It makes its own fresh water
for drinking and showers.
I understand what you're saying, but we
cannot risk attacking a neutral country.
They are capable of launching
Mark 48 torpedoes,
tactical tomahawks,
harpoon missiles,
and the new,
advanced mobile mine.
When they racetrack back around.
More than
a thousand feet of water
provides a stealthy layer
of protection for the submarine
as it defends the carrier
and other surface ships above.
Like great weapons of the past,
navies simply cannot afford to
lose battles fought in earnest.
Despite the horrendous losses suffered
by the Germans and British at jutland,
battleships reappeared
in the second world war...
Much bigger and far more lethal.
Enchanted with the
powerful symbolism of big guns,
Adolf Hitler invested heavily
in battleships,
including thetirpitz
andbismarck.
The German ships
were superbly built and manned.
They were thought to be invincible
like the Nazis themselves.
Jj
The
cruisernorfolk sighted thebismarck
before her battle with thehood.
Followed the German ship
like a bloodhound.
Thebismarck's rudder
was damaged by light aircraft.
The crippled ship
was then pounded
by 2,800 shells
from British warships,
before being scuttled
by the German crew.
2,100 German sailors died.
As the age of the battleship
was coming to a close,
that of the aircraft carrier
was just beginning.
Each rimpac features
emerging advanced technology,
like the f-35, a
fifth-generation strike fighter.
Since world war ll,
increasingly powerful radar
has been used
to detect
inbound enemy aircraft.
With growing sophistication,
modern radar has been used
to lock on to enemy planes
and shoot them down
with guided missiles
fired over the horizon
beyond visual range.
All right. Hold on.
Let me check the roll.
Much of the new fighter's
advancements focus
on hiding from radar with a
technology called stealth.
The f-35 has multiple layers
of skin coating
that absorb radar waves,
preventing them from bouncing
back to enemy radar screens.
Engine intake and exhausts
are specially designed
to deflect and mask
the jet's thermal signature,
avoiding detection
from heat-seeking missiles.
It can carry more than 15,000
pounds of weapons externally,
or more than 5,000 pounds
internally,
dramatically improving
the f35's stealth profile.
The us marine variant,
the f-35b,
has more than
40,000 pounds of thrust,
giving pilots more raw power
than any other fighter engine
in history.
704 airborne.
704 departure. Radar contact.
The us Navy's version
is the f-35c.
Designed for carrier operations,
it has larger wings,
with tips that fold,
and tougher landing gear for catapult
launches and carrier arrestments.
413 departure. Radar contact.
413 airborne.
201 airborne.
The pilot's helmet displays
all pertinent information
no matter where
the pilot is looking.
The aircraft's
distributed aperture system
uses six
electro-optical sensors,
giving the pilot
an unprecedented 360 degrees
of situational awareness.
Level 2-5-0...
The pilot can actually
look through the aircraft itself.
All the key information
the pilot needs
is projected
onto the helmet's visor,
allowing for instant
coordinated response.
The missile warning system sees subtle
heat differences across the landscape.
Flight 873's got mam
at 270 for 45 at 25,000.
The new strike fighter shares
data seamlessly with other f-35s,
but also with allied aircraft and
commanders on water or land.
205, Roger.
Computer
technology so sophisticated,
it can identify types of planes
and nationality
and recommend to the pilot
suggested weapons to deploy.
The das sensors
can even spot a whale
or, more importantly,
a submarine on the surface.
Lightning 7-3, target.
When submarines first appeared
in the theater of war,
British admirals
considered them unethical...
The weapons of cowards who refused to
fight on the surface like real men.
The stealthy, high-tech
German submarine
was regarded by some as the
battleship of the future.
In the early years
of world war il,
they had a lethal advantage
in the north Atlantic.
Attacking and sinking thousands
of defenseless cargo ships,
strangling the lifeline
of the allied war effort.
In desperation,
hundreds of small corvettes
were hurriedly built
to defend the convoys.
Based on a fishing boat,
they were cheap and simple.
Their crews were amateurs
and most often teenagers.
They had the smallest guns
in the Navy.
Yet day and night, they fought the
terrible cruelty of submarine warfare,
struggling to save the lives
of merchant seamen.
The British, American,
and Canadian forces
of the sea and air
hurled our strength
upon the u-boat.
Gradually, these
and other tiny escort ships
of the Canadian, British,
and American navies
clawed back
the German advantage,
sinking 700 submarines
and winning the largest
naval battle in human history.
Early submarines were plagued by
lack of situational awareness.
Like blind mice in a cave, they knew
little of what lay around them.
Ship to 5-8 feet. Submerge the
ship to 5-8 feet, aye, sir.
Pilot, submerge the ship
to 5-8 feet.
Thevirginia class's sophisticated
electronic periscope and sensors
allow crew members access
to vital information.
They know exactly where they are
and, even more importantly,
they know the whereabouts
of both friend and foe.
Maritime interdiction, gunnery,
missile testing, anti-submarine,
mine clearance, air defense,
amphibious landing...
All demand coordinated planning
and much trial and error.
Advances in weapons systems seek
to integrate international navies,
armies, and air forces
into unified fighting units.
Advanced electronic
warfare systems
can identify in detail
friend from foe,
jam enemy assets, and provide
an electronic shield
to cloak threatened
friendly forces.
So clear switches hot. Cleared hot.
Release on condition.
Lightning 7-3 kill. C-41.
Fuel 330, speed 2-4.
Confirm that the target
is outside territorial waters.
Aye, sir. Stand by.
We're ready.
Take the... steady!
Ten seconds. Cleared to release.
Lightning 7-3, attack.
Twenty seconds. Master arm on.
Arms armed.
Launch three.
Lightning 7-3 off safe.
One away.
Man 2: Weapons cleared.
What was a gun
battle one moment can,
in the blink of an eye, become a
battle for survival of another kind.
For thousands of years, sailors have
feared violent seas as much as the enemy.
What rimpac highlights is
the very complicated missions
navies are asked to perform
in the modern world.
Terrorism, piracy, earthquakes,
fires, hurricanes,
humanitarian disasters.
Services that once jealously
competed increasingly work together.
Navies, national guards,
air forces,
coast guards, marines...
All of them are invited to practice
their highly skilled crafts
during rim of the pacific.
November, zulu.
Not long ago, the game of war
was played
with much higher stakes.
Sailors and airmen died in
earnest and in large numbers.
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941,
United States of America
was suddenly
and deliberately attacked
by naval and air forces...
Following the
bombing of Pearl harbor,
the Japanese gambled they could
draw the American carriers
into a trap
near the island of midway.
But the Americans secretly broke the
Japanese code and were prepared.
Get the saws on these guys and
see what's going on. Aye, sir.
American pilots, knowing they didn't
have the fuel to make it back,
still gambled they could
find the Japanese fleet.
And find them they did.
They sank three Japanese
carriers in eight minutes.
By the end of the day, four
Japanese carriers were sunk,
along with one heavy cruiser.
Three thousand Japanese
crew members lost their lives.
The Americans
lost only theyorktown.
Few of the us aircraft
made it back to their ships.
It was a turning point
in the pacific war,
sealing the Japanese fate.
The battle of midway
remains the greatest victory
in American naval history.
War or not, landing a fighter
aircraft on board a carrier remains
the most challenging and admired
skill in all of aviation.
The landing safety
officer's voice...
Always a fellow pilot...
Provides a vital measure
of precision and confidence
at exactly the right moment.
327, two miles.
The new f-35b
avoids the complexity
of a catapult
and arrestor cables.
It can operate almost anywhere...
A strategic advantage
in almost any kind of conflict.
Like all new weapon systems,
it seeks to provide a distinct
advantage over possible enemies.
Indeed, the goal
of modern navies
is to provide the most
effective weapons, tactics,
and training
as an overwhelming deterrence...
Avoiding at all costs
the risk of real war.
Most captains will tell you
that their passion
is to bring every crew member
back home safely.
For they are young people
who work long, hard,
dangerous hours,
months at a time,
with little or no recognition.
They make these sacrifices for their
families, communities, and nations.
Hi, mom. Hi, dad.
Hi, everyone back in Glen arm,
Maryland,
a little town that most people
have never heard of.
Shout out to the people
back home in Texas.
Booyah.
Shout out to people in San Jose.
Stay warm, Michigan.
Salt lake city, Utah.
Hi, mom.
Love you, Texas.
From great naval battles,
civilizations Rose and fell.
Yet there is more firepower
on board the ships of rimpac
than all the bombs used in all
of the wars in human history.
The goal of modern navies
is to avoid war at all cost,
for if there is
another great war,
nothing will rise from the ashes,
neither righteous nor evil.
There will be no romantic paintings,
nor writers to celebrate the victory.
After 4,000 years
of naval warfare,
we have little choice
but to sail together,
work towards peace,
and all return home
safely to our families.