The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego after a 321-day deployment that included major combat operations in the Middle East, the Navy announced. The ship departed its home port on Nov. 21, 2025, and steamed more than 93,000 nautical miles across the Pacific, Indian and Arabian Seas with its Carrier Strike Group 3.
During its deployment, the strike group led major combat operations beginning in late January in what the Navy designated Operation Epic Fury. The air wing flew more than 13,000 sorties totaling 28,500 flight hours. During 40 days of major combat operations, the strike group reported destroying more than 100 Iranian drone, missile and small boat attacks while delivering more than 1.5 million pounds of ordnance on targets.
Following a ceasefire with Iran on April 8, the strike group enforced a maritime blockade against Iranian-flagged vessels in the northern Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman until departing the region on Aug. 22. The ship set records for modern aircraft carriers, including 208 consecutive days at sea between ports in Guam and Oman, and 286 consecutive days at sea between San Diego and a port in Thailand.
The Lincoln made brief stops in Guam in December and in September, Duqm, Oman, in July, and Pattaya, Thailand, in September. Capt. Dan Keeler, the ship's commanding officer, said the crew operated under "unprecedented operational tempo for a long period of time."