The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG), dispatched to the Middle Eastern theatre in August 2024 to defend Israel against attacks from Iran and its Lebanon and Yemen-based proxies, has finally docked at home with several historic firsts in its kitty.
The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego for a planned Indo-Pacific deployment on July 11, 2024. However, as the threat of an attack on Israel by its adversaries Iran and the Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah loomed large, the United States redeployed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group from the Seventh Fleet in the Indo-Pacific to the Fifth Fleet in the Middle East, along with several other cutting-edge military assets.
In addition to thwarting attacks on Israel, the deployment of USS Abraham to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility was aimed at strengthening the US military posture in the region and degrading the capabilities of the Yemen-based Houthis, who had been attacking international military and commercial vessels in the region.
After successfully deployment to the US 7th Fleet and US 5th Fleet areas of operation for five months, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group’s flagship, the USS Abraham Lincoln, returned to San Diego on December 20.
The US Navy announced: “The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG), returned to San Diego on Dec. 20, 2024, after completing a five-month deployment that included combat operations in the Middle East.”
“From the start of deployment, right up until the end, the Lincoln team never wavered in their commitment to excellence. Even while being targeted by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, Lincoln Nation expertly defended the ship and supported our Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group destroyers transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The men and women of Lincoln nation should stand tall knowing they performed admirably in the face of uncertainty,” said Capt. Pete Riebe, commanding officer, USS Abraham Lincoln.
Five destroyers were assigned to Abraham Lincoln CSG. USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) assumed the cruiser position of Integrated Air and Missile Defense Commander. At the same time, USS O’Kane (DDG-77), USS Stockdale (DDG-106), USS Spruance (DDG-111), and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) served as the remaining escorts.
The US has deployed multiple aircraft carriers to the Central Command area of responsibility since the hostilities broke out between Israel and Hamas in October 2023. In essence, carrier strike groups play a crucial role in military operations overseas and expand force projection.
A Series Of Historic Firsts
While the US has as many as eleven aircraft carriers in its arsenal—the most owned by any country—the USS Abraham Lincoln stands out at the moment for what it has achieved in the recently concluded five-month deployment: a series of historic firsts.
The US F-35C Lightning II aircraft made its combat debut aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier during its deployment to the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
The stealth aircraft took off from the carrier and launched air strikes against the Yemen-based Houthis. The Marine Corps’ VMFA-314 squadron, often referred to as the “Black Knights,” participated in the strike, which took place between November 9 and 10, 2024. A variety of US Air Force and Navy combat aircraft, such as the F-35C, the F/A-18F Super Hornet, and the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, participated in the operation.
With this, the F-35C became the last model of the Lightning II series—following the A and B variants—to debut in combat operations.
Another historic first in USS Abraham Lincoln’s kitty is the first employment of the ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) on the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft stationed on the carrier. “This marks the first time the jammer has been used both deployed and in combat, marking a generational leap in electronic warfare capability,” the Navy said in its statement.
The NGJ architecture is a jamming capability installed on a pod intended to supplement and replace the EA-18G electronic attack aircraft’s outdated AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS). The new-generation jammer is an entirely self-sustained pod that produces its power, cooling, and transmission and includes an excitation chain that consists of field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, high-speed memory (HSM)/digital radio frequency (RF) memory (DRFM), and direct digital synthesis. It is believed to significantly bolster the capability of the Growlers, entrusted with escort and self-protection jamming.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group became the first West Coast CSG to conduct combat strikes on the Houthis. The Pentagon said the operations were intended to stop illegal targeting of vessels operating in these vital maritime areas.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group also became the first Nimitz-class aircraft carrier strike group to re-fuel at sea with a commercial oiler. The tanker Overseas Mykonos, owned by the Overseas Shipholding Group, became the first commercial tanker to fuel a US Navy aircraft carrier in decades when it transferred fuel to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72).
This was done after the US Navy’s refueler, the USNS Big Horn, was damaged after the ship refueled and replenished Navy vessels operating in the region. It is pertinent to note that although the USS Abraham Lincoln is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and doesn’t require refueling, the strike group’s other ships and the planes on board depend on fossil fuels to function during extended deployments overseas.
Another first for the USS Abraham Lincoln was conducting the first-ever Multi-Large Deck Event (MLDE) with the Italian Navy’s Cavour CSG in the Indo-Pacific region on August 9 before it was sent to the Middle East.
“The MLDE provides the ships and aircraft of the two naval forces, comprised of more than 7,500 U.S. and Italian Sailors and Marines, an opportunity to engage in joint operations including enhanced maritime communication operations, air warfare operations, and cross-deck flight operations to strengthen maritime integrated-at-sea operations and combat readiness,” the US Navy said at the time.
The USS Abraham Lincoln also made history when it became the first carrier to pull into Malaysia in over 12 years to strengthen critical regional partnerships. This was its first visit to the Southeast Asian state since the ‘Fat Leonard’ scandal shook the US Navy, as explained in detail by the EurAsian Times.
The last visit by a US aircraft carrier to Malaysia was by USS George Washington in 2012. “Our visit to Kuala Lumpur is important to the U.S. Navy. It is the first time an aircraft carrier has visited in 12 years,” said Rear Adm. Adan Cruz, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3. “I deeply value the opportunity to strengthen the U.S. and Malaysian partnership while providing an opportunity for our Sailors and Marines to experience the amazing city of Kuala Lumpur.”
In addition to these historic firsts, the carrier strike group’s deployed Marines and Sailors completed over 9,000 sorties, logging over 78,000 nautical miles, 21,000 flight hours, and 28 replenishments at sea. Regular port calls were made by ABECSG ships to Egypt, Guam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saipan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
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