Two Massive Carrier Strike Groups from the U.S. Are Now Flexing in the Philippine Sea

Two of America’s most powerful carrier strike groups are making their presence felt in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in the Philippine Sea, where they are currently conducting drills. 

The USS Abraham Lincoln—the world’s first supercarrier commanded by a woman—and the USS Ronald Reagan, together with their respective carrier strike groups, are carrying out Operation Valiant Shield 2022 in the Philippine Sea.

Also with the two carrier strike groups is the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship that can also launch jet fighters. 

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USS Abraham Lincoln

Photo by U.S. NAVY/PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Carrier Strike Group 5 Led by the USS Ronald Reagan. Taken in 2018

Photo by U.S. Navy (Public Domain).

USS Tripoli

Photo by U.S. Navy (Public Domain).

The American contingent in the Philippine Sea is one of the largest to gather in the region since the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II. The USS Abraham Lincoln is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, which is assigned one of the largest naval squadrons in the U.S. Navy: It includes multiple Ticonderoga-class cruisers, a flotilla of destroyers, support and logistics vessels, and nuclear submarines, on  top of up to 90 aircraft carried by the flagship. Roughly the same composition also goes for the USS Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, the strike group assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet—America’s largest forward-deployed naval force in the world. 

The USS Abraham Lincoln alone has a crew of 3,200 sailors and 2,480 airmen. The USS Ronald Reagan, an older ship, has roughly 3,500 sailors and 2,480 airmen. 

The U.S. and its allies in the Asia Pacific are currently preparing for Rim of the Pacific 2022 (RIMPAC) a massive naval exercise participated in by Pacific allies such as by Australia, Japan, the U.S., South Korea, the Philippines, and more. 

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More ships are coming.

The two carrier strike groups from the U.S. are just parts of a massive and unprecedented military exercises being held in Asia this year. 

"Also taking part are the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC), I and III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) and the Air Force’s 36th Wing. Altogether, there are a total of 15 surface ships, more than 200 aircraft and an estimated 13,000 personnel from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Space Force," writes the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI). 

According to USNI, forces from Japan and Australia are expected to join the U.S. in RIMPAC 2022. 

"The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy are also preparing their ships for Indo-Pacific deployments ahead of the exercise, set to be held in Hawaii from June 29 until August 4," writes the USNI.

On June 13, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has launched the massive deployment of its ships for a four-month mission in the Indo-Pacific region. It described the deployment as something that will "contribute to peace and stability in the region."