Overview
- Ship-spotter photos and MarineTraffic data show the carrier transited past Singapore and through the Strait of Malacca, reaching waters near the eastern Indian Ocean north of Sumatra on Tuesday.
- The Pentagon and U.S. Navy have not confirmed any Middle East tasking, though media reports citing anonymous sources say the strike group was ordered west.
- The Abraham Lincoln is deployed with Carrier Air Wing 9 and the destroyers USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., according to a Navy release.
- With the Lincoln leaving the South China Sea, the only U.S. carrier based in the region is USS George Washington in maintenance at Yokosuka, creating a temporary carrier presence gap.
- The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, forward-deployed to Japan and capable of operating F-35B jets, is underway on routine operations that could partly offset the shortfall.