During this period, the USS Abraham Lincoln has conducted a range of training activities, including flight operations, replenishment-at-sea exercises, damage control drills, and explosive ordnance disposal training. Escort vessels assigned to the carrier strike group, including the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance, have also taken part in the operations, as reported by the outlet.
On January 8, the carrier conducted a live-fire exercise involving its Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), a radar-guided defensive turret designed to counter incoming missiles, aircraft, and small surface threats. Photographs released by the U.S. Navy show the system being fired from the ship’s flight deck while underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet’s area of operations.
“The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is conducting routine operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area,” the Navy said in accompanying captions, adding that units assigned to the fleet regularly patrol the Indo-Pacific to deter aggression, strengthen alliances and partnerships, and promote regional stability. As of Friday, the USS Abraham Lincoln remained in the South China Sea, according to the most recent imagery.
The drills come amid heightened military activity in the region. Shortly after the carrier entered the South China Sea, China conducted live-fire exercises on December 29 and 30 that encircled Taiwan, which sits between the East and South China seas. A spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it had “successfully completed” the drills, code-named “Justice Mission 2025” as quoted by Channel News Asia (CNA).
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