Hegseth Praises USS Abraham Lincoln Crew After Record-Long Combat Deployment

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln following a combat deployment that kept the aircraft carrier at sea for more than 260 consecutive days without a port call, marking one of the longest uninterrupted naval deployments in U.S. Navy history.

Speaking aboard the carrier, Hegseth said the strike group carried out 3,693 combat sorties, launched 450 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and used around 1.37 million pounds of ordnance against Iranian targets. He also said the operation resulted in the sinking of 64 Iranian warships and the destruction of 21 anti-ship missiles.