Sam LaGrone

The crew of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is weeks away from wrapping a deployment that could be the second longest since the end of the Cold War, according to the USNI News carrier database. As of Tuesday, Lincoln, its escorts and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 9 were sailing in the Indian Ocean on the strike group’s return journey to the West Coast and were still a month or more away from home. Based on the time it took the last three carrier strike groups to sail from the Middle East to California, the strike group might not arrive until

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Families of sailors assigned to the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group are already preparing for a deployment that will last more than seven months as the U.S. conflict with Iran continues. When USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), its escorts and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 11 leave from San Diego in the coming weeks, the strike group is expected to move to U.S. Central Command to relieve the Japan-based USS George Washington (CVN-73), which entered U.S. 5th Fleet last week. Since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, the U.S. has maintained a carrier

Families of sailors assigned to the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group are already preparing for a deployment that will last more than seven months

Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) passed through the Singapore Strait on Saturday en route to a planned port visit in Thailand, according to ship spotters. Several photographers saw Lincoln’s late-night transit past the city on the way to the South China Sea. The carrier and Japan-based escort guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) were seen on Friday transiting the Strait of Malacca. According to press reports, the crew of Lincoln, the embarked Carrier Air Wing 9 and some escorts are expected to pull into Eastern Thailand for a port visit. U.S. carriers have previously pulled into the deep-water port at

The White House and U.S. Navy are considering frigate designs from South Korea, Japan and Turkey for a new class of warships, USNI News has learned. An international warship competition could include building up to two of the ships in foreign shipyards before transitioning to domestic yards as part of the Trump administration’s push to rapidly expand the fleet, three industry sources familiar with the deliberations confirmed to USNI News this week. The move would break with more than a century of U.S. domestic naval construction. Potentially buying international-built frigates follows an August White House memo that opened the door

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao is President Donald Trump’s pick to be the permanent SECNAV, the president announced on Tuesday. “I am pleased to nominate a true WARRIOR, Hung Cao, to become the next Secretary of the Navy. We need Patriots like Hung leading our Navy and Marine Corps, and I can think of no one better than him to make sure our Great Navy and Marine Corps remain the FIERCEST and BEST Force the World has ever seen,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he

Sailors and Marines assigned to USS San Antonio (LPD-17) interdicted and destroyed a second suspected narco logistics vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Wednesday in coordination with Ecuadorian forces as part of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, reads a statement from U.S. Southern Command. Sailors and Marines, “interdicted, boarded, searched, and cleared the vessel without incident. Individuals removed from the vessel are being safely transferred to Ecuadorian Authorities. Once cleared, U.S. forces sank the vessel,” reads the statement. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was operating in support of the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization.” In video released by SOUTHCOM, an 11-meter

 The following is a summary of major ship movements and exercises in the Western Pacific over the last week. In Laem Chabang, Thailand Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) pulled into Laem Chabang, Thailand on Wednesday for a port visit, marking its first full port stop since the start of its deployment in November 2025, which includes 286 days at sea and also comes after nearly seven months of operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. On the same day, air defence commander destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) docked in nearby Sriracha while cruiser USS

Interdiction of 2nd Suspected Narco Refueling Station

Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao will need a Congressional waiver from both the House and the Senate to be eligible for confirmation as the permanent SECNAV, USNI News has learned. In order to serve as a U.S. service secretary, nominees are required by law to have been retired from active-duty service for seven years. Cao, who was confirmed last year as Under Secretary of the Navy, is a 1996 U.S. Naval Academy graduate and served as an explosive ordnance disposal and diving officer. He retired from the Navy as a captain in October 2021, according to his Department