Sailors carry out flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington while underway in the Indian Ocean, Aug. 18, 2026. (Juan Cordova/U.S. Navy)
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington recorded its 200,000th arrested landing Tuesday as it steamed toward the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The milestone came as the Japan-based George Washington and its strike group crossed the Indian Ocean after departing the Pacific, the Navy said in information accompanying footage of the landing posted to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
The historic landing was made by an F-35C Lightning II assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 147 out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, the Navy said. Arresting gear use cables stretched across a carrier’s flight deck to rapidly stop aircraft as they land.
A Navy official previously confirmed to Stars and Stripes that the George Washington was headed to the Arabian Sea to replace the Abraham Lincoln, which has been operating for more than 250 days since its last rest-and-recreation port call.
The swap comes amid reports of sailors aboard the Abraham Lincoln struggling with the strain of the lengthy deployment, including reports of attempts by some crew members to jump overboard.
The Abraham Lincoln deployed in November and was sent to the Middle East in January ahead of U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran. The carrier took park in the bombing campaign and blockade of Iranian ports.
An F-35C Lighting II completes the 200,000th arrested landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the Indian Ocean, Aug. 18, 2026. (Joshua Karsten/U.S. Navy)
The George Washington’s departure temporarily leaves the Pacific without a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group west of San Diego.
The George Washington is the Navy’s only permanently deployed carrier and is homeported at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. It entered service on July 4, 1992.
By comparison, the USS Nimitz, the Navy’s oldest operating carrier, logged its 350,000th arrested landing, or trap, in April 2023, a feat that took nearly 50 years to accomplish.
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