The USS Abraham Lincoln has returned to San Diego after a record-setting 321-day deployment in the US-Israel war with Iran, one of the longest and most demanding carrier deployments in modern US Navy history.
The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered carrier pulled into Naval Air Station North Island on Thursday, ending a deployment that included what the Pentagon describes as a record 264 consecutive days at sea without a port call, according to US officials and multiple media reports.
A record deployment in the Iran war
The Lincoln left San Diego in November 2025 for what was meant to be a Pacific tour, but was redirected to the Middle East in January 2026 after the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury against Iranian military targets on February 28, according to Naval Today and the Associated Press.
Carrying some 5,000 sailors and Marines, the carrier strike group took part in 40 consecutive days of combat operations beginning February 28, launching 3,693 combat flights and delivering 1.37 million pounds of ordnance, according to figures Secretary of War Pete Hegseth presented aboard the ship on October 7. After the April 8 ceasefire, the strike group spent months enforcing a maritime blockade of Iranian shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz before departing the US Central Command area on August 22.
Hegseth’s claims: 64 Iranian warships sunk, 450 Tomahawks fired
Addressing the crew one day before the ship’s return, Hegseth said the strike group had done what “no other carrier strike group has ever done,” and presented the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest decoration awarded to military units, for extraordinary heroism, according to reports from Arab News and the Associated Press.
Hegseth credited the strike group with sinking 64 Iranian warships, launching 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, shooting down 77 one-way attack drones, and destroying 21 anti-ship cruise missiles during the campaign. He also described the US naval posture in and around the Strait of Hormuz as an “impenetrable steel wall” aimed at blockading Iranian ports. These figures have not been independently verified.
A grueling deployment for the crew
The historic deployment took a heavy toll. During the summer, US lawmakers and military families raised alarms over reported food shortages and declining morale aboard the carrier. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said last month that eight service members assigned to the Lincoln strike group had attempted suicide during the deployment, according to WE News.
Hegseth pushed back on the coverage during his visit, saying some in the media had tried to turn the carrier “into some sort of a symbol of dysfunction,” and insisting the only reaction should be pride in the crew. President Donald Trump similarly dismissed the reports at the time, according to Arab News.
What comes next
The Lincoln’s return comes as diplomatic channels on the Iran conflict remain active. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response to its proposed seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump said the US was holding “productive discussions” with Tehran and would not resume strikes before the November 3 US midterm elections, according to Gulf News.
Based on reporting by Arab News, the Associated Press, Naval Today, and the Express Tribune.
