Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has carried out live-fire exercises in the South China Sea as part of routine operations by the carrier strike group in the Indo-Pacific, according to the U.S. Navy.
Photographs released by the service show the Nimitz-class carrier firing its Close-In Weapon System during drills conducted on 8 January while underway with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. The Navy said the strike group is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility, where forces conduct regular patrols intended to deter aggression and reinforce alliances.
The U.S. Navy stated that units assigned to 7th Fleet “conduct regular Indo-Pacific patrols to deter aggression, strengthen alliances and partnerships and advance peace through strength.†The live-fire serials formed part of that broader operational posture.
USS Abraham Lincoln is operating alongside embarked Carrier Air Wing 3 and escorted by destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., USS Spruance and USS Michael Murphy. The carrier strike group has been active in the Philippine Sea since departing Guam in mid-December following a port visit, according to U.S. Navy reporting. Elsewhere in the region, the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and the attack submarine USS Seawolf are also operating in the Indo-Pacific, contributing to sustained U.S. naval presence during a period when other ships have returned to homeports or conducted holiday port visits.
USS Abraham Lincoln, commissioned in 1989, is one of the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and can embark around 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The ship is equipped with layered defensive systems including the Phalanx CIWS, Rolling Airframe Missile and Sea Sparrow to protect against air and missile threats.
