A new US aircraft carrier will deploy to the Middle East to relieve another carrier that recently sailed to the region as the war with Iran drags on, the US Naval Institute (USNI) reported.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group is expected to sail from San Diego within weeks for a deployment of more than seven months.
Which US aircraft carrier is heading to the Middle East?
The USS Theodore Roosevelt is the carrier being sent, according to USNI's Wednesday report.
It will relieve the USS George Washington, which deployed from Japan and arrived in the Middle East last week after replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Why was the USS Abraham Lincoln deployed to the Middle East?
The Lincoln had departed California in November 2025 for duty in the South China Sea before being rerouted to the Middle East ahead of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began six months ago. Reports later emerged of grim conditions and even suicide attempts among crew on the carrier, which had been at sea since November 2025. The acting Navy secretary pushed back on those concerns at the time.
The Lincoln is now heading for a port call in Thailand next week for its 5,000 sailors. The US has kept an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea for strike missions over Iran since the war began at the end of February, and later to enforce a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Is a third aircraft carrier going to the Middle East?
The Theodore Roosevelt would be the third carrier tied to the Middle East deployment cycle, following the Lincoln and the George Washington. USNI, a private military association that hosts research and reporting on national security issues, cited senior officials including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle. Caudle said the Navy is trying to ease pressure on sailors and their families facing the longest deployments in decades.
The US Defense Department did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on Thursday. The George Washington's recent deployment from Japan means there is currently no US aircraft carrier in the Pacific, where the US customarily keeps a vessel to counter China.
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