F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets attached to the carrier USS Nimitz fly in formation with two Chilean Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons as part of the Southern Seas 2026 exercises off the west coast of South America on April 13, 2026. (Griffin “Moth” Keegan/U.S. Navy)
USS Nimitz held joint maritime training exercises with the military of Chile this week as the carrier continued its move to a new homeport at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
The Nimitz has been participating in the multinational Southern Seas 2026 exercises, hosting military leaders from Panama and El Salvador aboard the ship and conducting live-fire training with the Ecuadorian Navy. Some of the training has included the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley.
The joint exercise this week came as new Chilean President José Antonio Kast opened the Feria Internacional del Aire y del Espacio 2026 in Santiago, the largest aerospace and defense exhibition in Latin America.
“The U.S. participation will showcase a diverse set of capabilities, including C-130 Hercules and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft from the Texas Air National Guard, the U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue parachute team and the F-35 Lightning II Demonstration Team, with additional support from the U.S. Navy with a P-8 Poseidon,” according to a statement from U.S. Southern Command.
The exhibition included an in-flight demonstration by a Chilean Air Force KC-135 that refueled two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighters.
The Nimitz is scheduled to conduct additional exercises with Latin American militaries after transiting from the Pacific to the Atlantic at the tip of South America, then proceeding north to Norfolk.
