San Diego-based carrier USS Abraham Lincoln helps lead first wave of US-Israel attacks against Iran
The United States’ joint attack with Israel against Iran deeply involves San Diego’s USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the most distinguished and technologically advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the world and a veteran of major wars in the Middle East.
The flattop launched jet attacks against Iran on Saturday while at least one of its escort ships, the destroyer USS Spruance, fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iranian targets, according to the US Central Command and the Navy. The Spruance and a second destroyer, the USS Pinckney, are also based in San Diego, the headquarters of Third Fleet.
The 1,092-foot flattop is the flagship of a nine-ship strike group that features upward of 60 aircraft and roughly 7,600 personnel, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.
The San Diego-based destroyer USS Spruance fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets in Iran on Saturday, according to the US Central Command.
The aircraft now aboard the Lincoln come from Naval Air Station North Island, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and bases at Point Mugu, Lemoore, located in the Central Valley, and Whidbey Island in Washington.
The 37-year-old carrier is operating off Oman in the Arabian Sea with a primary mix of F/A-18 multi-role fighter jets and new generation F-35C stealth fighters. Four years ago, the Lincoln became the first carrier to deploy with F-35Cs. Both of these aircraft carry precision-guided air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, giving the carrier range and power.
The Navy says the fighter jets are supplemented by EA-18 Growler aircraft, which use electronic warfare to jam enemy radar and communications; E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, which are airborne early warning planes; CMC-22B tilt-rotor Ospreys, to transport people; MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters for anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue, and unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence and surveillance.
The strike-group also features six Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which are known as the workhorse of the Navy because they are so versatile.
Burke destroyers stock Tomahawk cruise missiles, a weapon that became famous during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 because they were used so effectively by ships and submarines. Tomahawks were originally developed by the Convair division of General Dynamics in San Diego and some of the missiles can travel about 1,000 miles.
The destroyers are indispensable to the Navy but they lack the glamour of aircraft carriers, notably the Lincoln, which was commissioned in 1989 during the waning years of the Cold War.
Sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) man the rails on their return to San Diego and NAS Coronado on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Coronado, CA. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The carrier became widely known in June 1991, during its first deployment, when it spearheaded a 23-ship armada that evacuated almost 45,000 people from Luzon Island in the Philippines following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. It then traveled to the Persian Gulf and provided air support and reconnaissance after the main fighting had ended in Operation Desert Storm.
The Lincoln returned to the region several times in the 1990s to help enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. And in March 2003 it helped lead the so-called “shock and awe” phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, carrying out more than 2,300 combat missions. Two months later, President George W. Bush famously declared during a visit to the Lincoln that major combat operations had ended. But the conflict lasted, in various ways, for almost nine years.
The carrier — which many sailors call “Abe” — has deployed to the Middle East several times since 2019, mostly due to tensions with Iran.
The Lincoln left San Diego on its latest deployment in November 2025. It was initially assigned to patrol the Indo-Pacific. President Donald Trump diverted the ship to the Middle East in mid-January due to rising tensions with Iran, which has refused to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
