Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its escorts will “accelerate” their voyage from the Pacific to the Middle East, Pentagon officials told reporters on Monday.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant on Sunday and affirmed the U.S. military commitment to Israel as the region braces for anticipated retaliation from Iran following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month.
“Secretary Austin has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to [U.S. Central Command], adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday.
The Marine Corps F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters belong to the “Black Knights” of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 314. The Black Knights are assigned to Carrier Air Wing 9, embarked on Lincoln. The strike group was ordered to head to the Middle East on Aug. 2, USNI News previously reported.
As of Monday, Lincoln was operating in the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines, according to USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker. Lincoln’s position means a seven-to-nine-day sail from the Pacific to the North Arabian Sea and U.S. 5th Fleet, based on previous carrier transits in the region.
Last week, Lincoln exercised with the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (550) in the Western Pacific.
Ryder did not clarify if Lincoln would operate in tandem with USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) or if TR would cycle out of the Middle East back to the Pacific. Prior to the most recent announcement, defense officials have told USNI News the intent was for Roosevelt and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 11 to begin the return home to California. As of Monday, the strike group, which left in January, has been deployed for more than seven months. Over the last five years, Roosevelt is the second busiest carrier in the Navy. Since 2020, TR has been deployed for almost 540 days, according to USNI News’ carrier deployment database.
Prior to Roosevelt arriving in U.S. Central Command, Austin had twice extended East Coast carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) to remain in the Middle East. The next East Coast carrier set to deploy is USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) which is in the midst of its final set of pre-deployment exercises.
In addition to the Lincoln announcement, the Pentagon signaled a guided-missile submarine capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile and U.S. special operations forces was headed to CENTCOM.
Ohio-class submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729) will be moved from U.S. European Command to U.S. Central Command, a defense official confirmed to USNI News.
As of Monday, Georgia was still operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and had not transited the Suez Canal from U.S. European Command to U.S. Central Command, a defense official confirmed to USNI News.
Georgia is one of four Ohios that have been converted from nuclear ballistic submarines to carry Tomahawks. The guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN-728) recently wrapped an almost two-year long deployment to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea. The deployment included strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, USNI News previously reported.
