Map Shows US and China’s Aircraft Carriers in Pacific This Week

This week, China confirmed that it has carried out its first dual aircraft carrier operation, while an American aircraft carrier was conducting exercises in the Western Pacific Ocean.

The unprecedented Chinese military operation was conducted in the contested waters of the South China Sea and involved two carrier strike groups, led by the country’s first and second operational aircraft carriers.

Also, a Japan-based U.S. aircraft carrier was spotted operating near Guam for a joint exercise with Japan. It will arrive at its home port in Japan in late fall for forward deployment in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, one of Japan’s destroyers currently undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier continued its flight tests with American stealth fighter jets in waters off the U.S. West Coast. Its sister ship has departed from a Japanese naval base for a major refit.

Newsweek‘s weekly update maps aircraft carrier movements in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. As of November 1, the locations of 10 carriers were publicly available via military disclosures or open-source satellite imagery. The U.S. military has the world’s largest aircraft carrier fleet with 11 in service. China ranks second with three “flat-tops.”

U.S. Navy

USS George Washington: Western Pacific Ocean

Open-source flight tracking data shows that an E-2D carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft was flying over waters east of Guam on Wednesday, which indicated the George Washington was underway nearby for the U.S.-Japan joint exercise, Keen Sword 25.

The George Washington departed from San Diego on October 8 to begin its transit to Yokosuka, Japan. It is to replace its sister ship, USS Ronald Reagan, as the new forward-deployed aircraft carrier in Japan, bolstering the American naval presence in the region.

USS Nimitz: Eastern Pacific Ocean

Photos taken by a ship spotter show that the Nimitz was leaving Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, on Wednesday. The Navy said the aircraft carrier was underway in the Third Fleet’s area of responsibility in the Eastern Pacific Ocean for routine training operations.

USS Carl Vinson, USS Theodore Roosevelt, and USS Ronald Reagan: San Diego, California

An open-source satellite image captured on Thursday shows three aircraft carriers docked at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. The Carl Vinson was pierside there while conducting daily operations aboard, according to photos posted by the Navy.

The Theodore Roosevelt returned to North Island on October 15 following a nine-month operation in the Middle East and the Pacific Ocean. It remained pierside for maintenance.

The Ronald Reagan departed from North Island on Monday and returned to the base the following day, according to photos and a livestreaming webcam in San Diego. It is scheduled for maintenance in March 2025 at a shipyard in Bremerton.

People’s Liberation Army Navy

CNS Liaoning: Qingdao, Shandong

China’s first operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was at its home port in Qingdao in the eastern province of Shandong on Monday, according to open-source satellite imagery.

The Liaoning started off a long-distance exercise as early as mid-September, which saw it operating in the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, including a dual aircraft carrier operation with CNS Shandong, the second aircraft carrier in the Chinese navy service.

CNS Shandong: South China Sea

It was not immediately clear whether the Shandong was still underway in the South China Sea following the dual aircraft carrier operation, as the Chinese navy did not disclose its whereabouts. It is homeported at Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan.

CNS Fujian: Shanghai

The Fujian, which is China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, was pierside at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard as of Tuesday, according to open-source satellite imagery. The yet-to-be-commissioned warship conducted a new round of sea trials in September.

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

JS Kaga: Eastern Pacific Ocean

The Japanese navy’s helicopter-carrying destroyer, which is undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier, was continuing flight tests with the F-35B stealth fighter jet—capable of short-takeoff and vertical landing—in waters off southern California as of Wednesday.

JS Izumo: Philippine Sea

The Izumo, the sister ship of the Kaga, left Yokosuka naval base in Japan on Friday. It will undergo a major refit as part of its conversion into a light aircraft carrier, including its trapezoidal bow converted into a rectangle.