According to AFP on August 28, a new US aircraft carrier will be deployed to the Middle East to replace another aircraft carrier that has just arrived in the region, amid the prolonged war with Iran, the US Naval Institute (USNI) reported.
According to USNI, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group is expected to leave San Diego port on the west coast of the United States in the coming weeks, for a deployment lasting more than 7 months.
This group of ships will replace the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, the ship that departed from Japan and arrived in the Middle East last week. USS George Washington previously replaced the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, amidst information about poor living conditions, even incidents of sailors attempting suicide on the ship that has been operating continuously at sea since November 2025. At that time, the acting US Navy Secretary denied these concerns. The USS Abraham Lincoln is currently en route to Thailand.
The US maintains a permanent aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea to serve air strikes against Iran since the US and Israel launched the war in late February, followed by the implementation of a sea blockade with Iranian ports.
Naval Operations Commander, Admiral Daryl Caudle, said the US Navy is trying to reduce pressure on sailors and their families, who are undergoing the longest deployments in decades.
The departure of the USS George Washington from Japan means that currently no US aircraft carriers are present in the Pacific, an area where Washington often maintains an aircraft carrier to counter China.
The USS Abraham Lincoln left California (USA) in November 2025 to perform missions in the South China Sea, then was transferred to the Middle East just before the US and Israeli attacks on Iran 6 months ago.
