Aircraft carriers from the United States, France and Japan convened to conduct a naval drill in the Western Pacific waters east of the Philippines this week. Meanwhile, China, which has the world’s largest navy by hull count, did not deploy any of its aircraft carriers.
Newsweek‘s weekly update maps aircraft carrier movements in the Indo-Pacific region. As of February 14, the locations of 12 vessels were publicly available via military disclosures, as well as open-source imagery captured by satellites or ship-spotters. The U.S. military has the world’s largest “flattop” fleet with 11 in service. China ranks second with three.
U.S. Navy
USS Carl Vinson: Philippine Sea
The Carl Vinson has been taking part in an exercise, code-named Pacific Steller 2025, since February 8 in the Philippine Sea with counterparts from France and Japan, FS Charles De Gaulle and JS Kaga, respectively. The exercise is scheduled to end on February 18.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
USS George Washington: Yokosuka, Japan
The George Washington remained pierside at Yokosuka naval base, its home port in the Greater Tokyo Area, as of Friday, according to a local government website that tracks port visits by American nuclear-powered warships.
USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln: San Diego, California
The Theodore Roosevelt and the Abraham Lincoln remained at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, as of Thursday, according to a website that records the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet’s deployment history.
USS Nimitz: Eastern Pacific Ocean
U.S. Naval Institute News reported on Monday that the Nimitz was conducting exercises off the coast of southern California ahead of a deployment later this year.
USS Ronald Reagan: Bremerton, Washington
Photos released by the U.S. Navy showed the Ronald Reagan was pierside at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, on Tuesday.
People’s Liberation Army Navy
CNS Liaoning: Qingdao, Shandong
Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem
The Liaoning, China’s first operational aircraft carrier, was spotted at its home port in Qingdao in China’s Shandong province on Friday, according to satellite imagery.
CNS Shandong: Sanya, Hainan
Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem
The second operational Chinese aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was spotted at its home port in Sanya in China’s Hainan province on Monday, satellite imagery showed.
CNS Fujian: Shanghai
Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem
The Fujian, China’s most advanced but yet-to-be-commissioned aircraft carrier, was in a dry dock at Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard in eastern China on Thursday, a satellite photograph showed.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
JS Kaga: Philippine Sea
Kaga, a Japanese helicopter destroyer undergoing conversion into an aircraft carrier, is participating in Exercise Pacific Steller 2025 in the Philippine Sea.
JS Izumo: Yokohama, Japan
Japanese media said the Izumo, which is the Kaga‘s sister ship, will remain at a shipyard in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, for conversion into an aircraft carrier until 2027.
French Navy
FS Charles de Gaulle: Philippine Sea
The Charles de Gaulle is one of three aircraft carriers taking part in the Pacific Steller 2025 exercise in the Philippine Sea. It left France in November for a five-month mission, becoming the first French aircraft carrier to be sent to the Pacific Ocean since 1968.
