The aircraft carrier USS George Washington has arrived in the Arabian Sea near the Strait of Hormuz, replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln as part of the United States' military presence in the Middle East amid ongoing tensions with Iran. The ship's commanding officer, Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, said morale among the roughly 5,000 sailors aboard remains high, with senior officers describing the crew as ready and well-resourced for what is expected to be a sustained deployment.

The Nimitz-class carrier, designated CVN 73, is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group Five and is accompanied by the cruiser USS Robert Smalls and destroyer USS Shoup. It carries around nine squadrons including F/A-18 Super Hornets, F-35C Lightning IIs, Growler electronic warfare jets and Seahawk helicopters, and can land roughly 70 aircraft a day. The deployment, now under US Central Command, follows a recent visit to Vietnam, and last week saw pilot Lt. Steven Frazier complete the ship's historic 200,000th arrested landing in an F-35C.