WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group sank 64 Iranian warships during its extended deployment amid the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran.
Hegseth made the remarks while addressing the crew of the aircraft carrier ahead of its return to San Diego after a 321-day deployment.
“They had a modern navy before this conflict started, and then they had to deal with the USS Abraham Lincoln and what you’re capable of doing,” Hegseth told sailors, according to reports.
He said the carrier strike group had helped enforce what he described as an “impenetrable steel wall” in and around the Strait of Hormuz as part of efforts to blockade Iranian ports.
The deployment included 40 consecutive days of combat operations, 3,693 combat flights, the launch of 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles and the destruction of 64 Iranian warships, according to figures cited by Hegseth.
The USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego in November 2025 and was subsequently redirected to the Middle East following the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran. It spent 264 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a record for a US aircraft carrier, according to the Pentagon.
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The lengthy deployment drew scrutiny over conditions aboard the carrier and the wellbeing of its crew. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said last month that eight service members assigned to the Lincoln strike group had attempted suicide during the deployment.
Hegseth rejected reports portraying the carrier as a symbol of low morale or dysfunction. “There were a few folks in the media who tried to turn USS Abraham Lincoln into some sort of a symbol of dysfunction or a symbol of low morale,” he told the crew.
“When I talk to your leadership, I know it’s the exact opposite,” he added. The USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying strike group were also awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the US military’s highest unit-level award for combat, for their role in the conflict.
