As part of its last deployment before its retirement in 2026 after fifty years of service, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) of the United States Navy sailed in recent days through the South China Sea, accompanied by the escort ships that make up its Strike Group. According to reports from open-source intelligence (OSINT), the lead ship of the namesake class briefly integrated with the Strike Group of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73), currently deployed in the Western Pacific, and which is expected to return in the coming days to its forward-deployed home port in Yokosuka, Japan.
According to the latest records, the USS Nimitz was detected transiting the Singapore Strait last Friday along with the destroyer USS Gridley (DDG-101), after completing a series of operations in the Middle East that extended for three months. This transit marks its return to the Indo-Pacific, after an extensive deployment in the Middle East that included a recent stop in Bahrain in mid-August, where the aircraft carrier carried out a logistical and rest visit before resuming operations at sea.
The deployment of the USS Nimitz in the region began at the end of March of the current year when it departed from the Naval Base of San Diego, California, in what constitutes its last mission before the definitive retirement planned for 2026, after more than 50 years of active service since its incorporation in 1975 into the U.S. Navy. During this last navigation, the aircraft carrier has operated together with the destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108), USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG-123) and USS Gridley (DDG-101).
During last June, the group received the order to move towards the Middle East, where it temporarily assumed the duties of the Strike Group of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), which returned to San Diego after its eight-month deployment. The presence of the Nimitz in that area had as its purpose to support maritime security operations and to maintain the quick-response capability of the 5th Fleet, in a period of special tension in the Persian Gulf framed within the armed conflict between Israel and Iran.
After completing that rotation and finishing the visit to Bahrain, the USS Nimitz began its transit towards the South China Sea, an area where it is currently carrying out maritime presence and training missions with allied forces. Although the duration of its stay in this operational area has not been confirmed, it is estimated that the aircraft carrier and its escorts have already accumulated around seven months of continuous operations under the command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM).
The current deployment in one of the most disputed regions of the world marks a symbolic closure for one of the most veteran ships of the U.S. surface fleet. Despite its age, the CVN-68 continues to be a fully operational platform, capable of deploying an embarked air wing composed of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and C-2A Greyhound refueling aircraft.
You may also like: The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman continue negotiating to expand production of the new B-21 Raider stealth bombers
