Through the release of a brief statement on its social media this morning, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced that the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington carried out new exercises in the South China Sea, seeking thereby to demonstrate long-range power-projection capabilities and Washington’s commitment to the security of its regional allies. Following the deployment in question, the ship and its embarked air wing returned to the Japanese base at Yokosuka, from where it operates as one of the main assets of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet.
Just a few hours after the aforementioned post, the U.S. Navy stated: “The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington transits the South China Sea on November 22, 2025. The USS George Washington is the U.S. Navy’s leading forward-deployed aircraft carrier, a long-standing symbol of the United States’ commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while operating alongside allies and partners of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the largest numbered fleet in the U.S. Navy.”
It is also worth recalling, as we reported on November 21, that the aforementioned carrier had taken part in exercises involving its F-35C Lightning II fighters to validate its operational capability. In particular, the aircraft that today form the backbone of the ship’s embarked air wing belonged to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147, whose pilots conducted multiple takeoffs from its deck as part of scheduled training.
It is also useful to mention that the deployment of the USS George Washington for these training activities comes at a time when concerns are growing over China’s constant and increasing naval presence in the region, through which it also monitors the movements of the various forces of the surrounding countries. In this sense, the passage of the U.S. aircraft carrier through the waters of the South China Sea should be understood as part of a forward-presence strategy, ensuring a constant naval force from Washington in the Indo-Pacific to keep the balance.
Finally, it is worth highlighting that while these activities were being carried out, North Korea raised tensions with warnings to the U.S. over the presence of the aircraft carrier in its vicinity, in addition to a previous visit to South Korea. In Pyongyang’s eyes, it was a “brazen” attempt to destabilize the regional scenario, adding that the move did nothing but “fan war hysteria” against the country. The matter is not minor, considering that, in addition to the various statements on the issue, the North Korean regime conducted new tests with its short-range ballistic missiles to signal its own deterrent power.
*Image credits: INDOPACOM – U.S. Navy
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