Carrier gap after 250-day ordeal: Navy swaps Pacific power for Middle East
The U.S. Navy's redeployment of the USS George Washington to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln — whose crew endured 250 days without a port visit — leaves the Western Pacific without a carrier. For the space and defense community, that gap elevates reliance on space-based ISR, satellite maritime domain awareness, and unmanned systems to maintain deterrence coverage.
Source: Defense News · navytimes.com