USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) remains deployed in the Middle East. It is unclear when the carry might return to the United States (Photo by the U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
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As of Tuesday, May 19, 2026, it has been 179 days since the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departed from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. Six-month-long deployments had been standard for the U.S. Navy’s carrier strike groups, but too few in service and too many hotspots have meant that the time at sea for the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers is increasingly being extended.
CVN-72 was operating in the South China Sea in January, when she was dispatched to the Middle East as the U.S. military began to move assets into place in advance of Operation Epic Fury, the campaign launched against Iran at the end of February. As the conflict shows no sign of a conclusion, it is unclear how long the supercarrier may remain in the region, but it may be until another carrier strike group is ready to deploy.
The warship has seen its past missions extended.
Until this spring, the USS Abraham Lincoln had held the record for the longest post-Vietnam deployment of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, with it lasting 295 days. The West Coast-based Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier had left her home port in April 2019 for a standard six-month deployment to the Middle East, but then spent 10 consecutive months at sea, only returning on January 20, 2020.
Following that mission, there were discussions about what such a lengthy time away from home meant for the crew, the toll it took on military families, and even the maintenance requirements of one of the U.S. military’s most high-profile and critical platforms.
Infamously, CVN-72’s 295-day record was broken last month by the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which finally returned home to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on Saturday, having spent 326 days at sea. During her odyssey-long mission, CVN-78 also operated in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Red Sea.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was present at Naval Station Norfolk as the supercarrier arrived home, and he acknowledged the sacrifices made by the crew.
“Extraordinary sailors and crew of Strike Group 12: for nearly a year, you have held the line for our nation. Your voyage took you to places never expected,” Hegseth told CVN-78’s crew, while greeting them over the ship’s public address system.
The Pentagon chief also announced that the crew of the USS Gerald R. Ford and the rest of Carrier Strike Group 12 would be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their actions during the deployment.
“We do not hand this award out simply for performing your duties. It is earned through extraordinary heroism. It signifies that, in the crucible of combat during Operation Epic Fury, Strike Group 12 unleashed lethality and violence of action… and secured a mission of vital national importance,” Hegseth added.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, greets a U.S. Navy Sailor as the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), returns to Naval Station Norfolk, May 16, 2026
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Sophie Pinkham)
According to the U.S. Navy, the PCU, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, “is the highest collective award a military unit can receive in the U.S. Armed Forces. It is awarded to units for extraordinary heroism in combat against an armed enemy, recognizing gallantry of a degree that would typically merit an individual Distinguished Service Cross or Navy/Air Force Cross.”
The time that the USS Gerald R. Ford and her escorts spent at sea was longer than current deployments, but it isn’t unprecedented. During the Vietnam War, notably in the 1960s and early 1970s, there were several occasions where carriers spent 300 days or longer at sea.
According to the U.S. Navy/USNI News carrier database that included the U.S. Navy's Midway-class USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), which spent 300 days at sea in 1972; the 308-day deployment in 1972-73 involving the Forrestal-class USS Saratoga (CVA-60); and the Midwayclass flattop USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) deployment that reached 329 days in 1964-65.
The USS Midway (CVA-41) still holds the record, at 332 days at sea in 1972-73. The extended, nearly year-long, deployment supported operations during the conflict in Southeast Asia, including the intensified air campaigns against North Vietnam in 1972.
Although some critics have been quick to compare the conflict with Iran to the war in Vietnam, there are notable differences. The war in Southeast Asia spanned more than a decade and required hundreds of thousands of drafted and enlisted troops fighting on the ground.
To date, the conflict with Iran has seen minimal localized troop deployments, with a heavy emphasis on standoff power rather than large-scale deployments.
Aircraft carriers continue to play a significant role in such campaigns; however, the U.S. Navy has only 11 in service, with just a handful ready to deploy at any given time.
“Delays in carrier production and longer maintenance periods will require longer deployments by operating carriers. Longer deployments and extending the lives of carriers will result in higher maintenance demands and longer maintenance periods,” warned Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
Clark explained in an email that carrier operating cycles are 36 months, with their maintenance periods lasting nine to 18 months.
“The carrier fleet could accommodate longer maintenance periods, which would keep the cycle of longer deployments and longer maintenance periods from spiraling,” Clark added.
The core problem is that the U.S. Navy’s nuclear maintenance shipyards are already overwhelmed with their current workload.
“They probably cannot handle the increased workload from an older, harder-working carrier fleet without creating additional delays that could impact the ability of carriers to deploy on schedule,” Clark continued. “This could drive a cycle of extended deployments, higher maintenance needs, and further delayed maintenance.”
The solution would seem to be to build new carriers, but the next Gerald R. Ford-class flattop, the future USS John F. Kennedy is already running far behind schedule. The situation will be no better with the following carriers, the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and the future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81).
Given these issues, building more carriers simply isn’t feasible.
“Since the shipbuilders are already behind, giving them more money to build more ships will not grow the fleet,” explained Clark. “Moreover, the Navy does not need more carriers. When it eventually restores the carrier force, it will not be able to afford the manning, operations, and maintenance for more carriers. The Navy also does not have enough aircraft for more carriers.”
These are all problems with no easy solutions, but what it will mean is that those on the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers should expect to spend more time away from home.
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