Here are the staggering numbers behind the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group's 321-day deployment

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returned home this week.

U.S.

Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aaron J.

Rolle USS Abraham Lincoln has returned from a challenging combat deployment.

Its air wing flew thousands of combat missions, dropping over a million pounds of ordnance.

The Navy says the deployment is shaping future carrier operations.

The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln returned home this week after a long and difficult combat deployment.

The numbers shared by the sea service for that deployment are staggering.

The warship left its homeport in San Diego in November 2025 and was deployed for 321 days, which included 286 consecutive days at sea without a port call.

The lengthy deployment, extended by Operation Epic Fury that kicked off the Iran war, set a modern-day record .

As hostilities began at the end of February, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group played a central role in the fight.

The carrier strike group's embarked Carrier Air Wing 9 — a naval aviation force consisting of nine squadrons of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, among other assets— flew nearly 4,000 combat flights during the 40-day operation.

During the monthslong deployment, it flew 14,037 aircraft sorties and accumulated 31,460 forward-deployed flight hours.

An estimated 20.5 million gallons of aviation fuel enabled the air wing's operations, the Navy said.