SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The USS Abraham Lincoln, home-ported in San Diego, is serving as a central component of Operation Epic Fury, the coordinated U.S. attack on Iran over the weekend.
The aircraft carrier left San Diego in November and was repositioned to the Middle East in January. With no timeline for its return, the ship is actively providing air support and serving as a mobile air base and command center, allowing fighter jets to operate closer to targets without the need for a land base.
Jim Kidrick, the president of the Air and Space Museum and a retired Navy fighter pilot, spoke about the ship's capabilities and its role in the operation.
Kidrick said the Lincoln was combat-ready from the moment it departed.
"We could have gone to war, into combat, the day after they left San Diego," Kidrick said.
Kidrick says the carrier has the capacity to hold 60 to 70 aircraft and is powered by two nuclear reactors. He described the Lincoln as a self-sufficient fighting force.
"This is that floating city, and it steams in, ready on arrival to go into combat," Kidrick said.
He also noted the intense conditions aboard the ship.
"The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the most dangerous workplace in the world. It may look smooth, and it is smooth, but it's also very dangerous," Kidrick said.
The U.S. has maintained a presence in the Gulf region since 1979. Kidrick, who was in the Middle East in the mid-1980s, said strike missions require precise coordination.
"We actually practiced a 48-airplane night strike into Iran," Kidrick said.
Marines are also aboard the Lincoln to help execute operations. Kidrick emphasized that missions are carefully planned and targeted.
"We're going to know which targets are ours; we all just don't fly into the country and just hope that we can hit some targets," Kidrick said.
There is currently no timeline for the USS Abraham Lincoln's return to San Diego.
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