The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln left San Diego on deployment Friday with virtually no fanfare and a mission that has yet to be publicly defined by the Navy.
The Abe, as many call it, was accompanied by the Burke-class destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen and is expected to be joined by other warships in the coming days.
The Lincoln will eventually relieve the carrier USS Nimitz, a 50-year-old flattop that is wrapping up the final deployment of its career.
For security reasons, it’s common for the Navy to say little or nothing when a carrier deploys. But word often quickly surfaces as to whether a San Diego carrier will be going to the Indo-Pacific or the Middle East.
There’s also been elevated interest in carriers recently because President Donald Trump, in a high-profile move, dispatched the world’s largest carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, to the Caribbean region as tension continues to build with Venezuela.
The Lincoln’s last deployment ended Dec. 20, after a long mission to the Indo-Pacific and Middle East.