Carrier Strike Group Tracker
Quick Answer: Where are US aircraft carriers deployed right now?
Eleven U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are tracked. Three are in or transiting to the U.S. 5th Fleet area (Middle East), two are forward-deployed in the U.S. 7th Fleet (Indo-Pacific), one is in the Caribbean on Operation Southern Spear, one recently returned to Norfolk from an 11-month deployment, and four are in homeport or major maintenance availabilities.
Forward Deployed, U.S. 5th Fleet AOR (Middle East)
- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), Arabian Sea, enforcing Iran blockade
- USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), Middle East, U.S. 5th Fleet AOR
- USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), Atlantic Ocean transit, en route to reinforce CENTCOM
Forward Deployed, U.S. 7th Fleet AOR (Indo-Pacific)
- USS George Washington (CVN-73), annual WESTPAC patrol after departing Yokosuka May 10, 2026
- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), Western Pacific deployment as Carrier Strike Group 9 flagship
Caribbean, Operation Southern Spear
- USS Nimitz (CVN-68), Caribbean Sea supporting U.S. Southern Command since May 20, 2026 (final operational cruise before decommissioning)
Recently Returned to Homeport
- USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), Norfolk, returned May 16, 2026 after historic 11-month combat deployment
Major Maintenance Availabilities
- USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), San Diego, scheduled maintenance
- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), Norfolk, departed shipyard May 12, 2026 for pre-RCOH sustainment
- USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Bremerton, 17-month DPIA (completes August 2026)
- USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), HII-Newport News Shipbuilding, RCOH (projected October 2026)
Live Carrier Snapshot
The map below shows only the carrier strike groups currently tracked on this page. For the full conflict, base, and incident overlay, open the Global Conflict Map.
Active Carrier Strike Groups
Each card represents a deployed or in-port carrier strike group, sourced from primary U.S. government releases. Cards are ordered by forward presence: Mediterranean and 5th Fleet first, homeport and maintenance last.
Note: Operational security may delay or restrict precise location reporting. Coordinates and descriptions reflect the most recent primary-source release; each card cites the primary release by name, title, and date.
Active Amphibious Ready Groups
Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs) and Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESGs) pair a Wasp-class (LHD) or America-class (LHA) amphibious assault ship with a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, plus an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Each ARG cites the primary U.S. Navy, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, or numbered-fleet release establishing current composition and deployment.
Note on coverage: The U.S. Navy operates additional Wasp-class (LHD) and America-class (LHA) amphibious assault ships that rotate through deployment, work-up, and maintenance cycles. This page lists only ARGs whose current status and composition are documented in a primary U.S. military source verified live. Ships without a current primary-source release are omitted until one publishes.
How We Track Carriers and Amphibious Ready Groups
Every entry on this page is sourced from primary U.S. military and government releases. Secondary news media, defense-news publications, and independent trackers are never cited in the source field. Approved sources include:
- U.S. Navy: official release imagery and unit announcements
- U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFF): deployment and return announcements
- Numbered combatant commands (CENTCOM, USPACOM, EUCOM, AFRICOM, SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM) for AOR-specific operations
- Numbered-fleet commands (Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet, Commander U.S. 7th Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 4th Fleet) for fleet-level operations
- Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (SURFPAC): West Coast surface and amphibious ship status
- Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA): maintenance milestones, Refueling and Complex Overhaul updates, and shipyard returns
- U.S. Marine Corps: embarked MEU composition and amphibious operations
- Strike group and Amphibious Squadron public-affairs releases for unit-level updates
When a precise position is classified, we report the regional command area of operations with representative coordinates. Coordinates are derived only from verified place names; never eyeballed from imagery.
Research aid (not a citation source): Independent defense-news trackers and the USNI Fleet and Marine Tracker are used internally to find candidate primary releases. The underlying U.S. Navy, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, or numbered-fleet release is then verified directly and cited; the tracker itself never appears in the source field of any card.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many US Navy carriers are deployed right now?
The U.S. Navy operates eleven active nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Two are forward-deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting Operation Epic Fury (USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush). USS Nimitz is on the Southern Seas 2026 deployment with U.S. 4th Fleet, returning to Norfolk for decommissioning. USS George Washington is completing a shakedown cruise near Yokosuka as the forward-deployed 7th Fleet carrier. USS Gerald R. Ford returned to Naval Station Norfolk on May 16, 2026 after an 11-month combat deployment. The remaining carriers are in maintenance, training, or work-up cycles at homeports including Norfolk, San Diego, Bremerton (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard), and HII-Newport News Shipbuilding.
Where does this data come from?
All entries are sourced from primary U.S. military and government releases: U.S. Navy, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, numbered combatant commands (CENTCOM, USPACOM, EUCOM, SOUTHCOM, AFRICOM, NORTHCOM), numbered-fleet commands, and Naval Sea Systems Command. Secondary news media and defense-news publications are not used. Each carrier card cites the primary release by name, title, and date.
How often is this page updated?
Carrier records refresh whenever a primary source publishes a new milestone, typically multiple times per week during active deployments. The freshness badge in the header reflects the oldest verified entry across all 11 active carriers.
Why are not all 11 US carriers shown?
This page tracks all 11 active U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, including those in maintenance, training, work-up, drydock, or Refueling and Complex Overhaul. Status is recorded for every active hull, whether at sea, in homeport, or in shipyard availability, so the page reflects the entire fleet picture rather than only carriers currently underway.
Does this page track amphibious assault ships too?
Yes. The Active Amphibious Ready Groups section lists Wasp-class (LHD) and America-class (LHA) amphibious assault ships whose current status and ARG/ESG composition are documented in a primary U.S. military source verified live. Ships without a current primary-source release are omitted until one publishes (we never fill from training-data or secondary-source assumptions).