Map Shows US and China’s Aircraft Carriers in Pacific This Week

The United States continued to face a “sea power gap” in the Western Pacific Ocean as none of its six West Coast-based aircraft carriers were underway in the contested region as of September 6.

Meanwhile, two Chinese “flat-tops” were spotted operating in the country’s nearby waters in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, with one of them on sea trial again.

An aircraft carrier sent by Italy, a European member of the U.S.-led military alliance NATO, continued its Indo-Pacific deployment. It reached the South China Sea and visited the Philippines.

Aircraft carriers are major platforms used by countries to project sea power in support of national interests and foreign policy in their immediate region and beyond. The U.S. Navy has the world’s largest aircraft carrier fleet with 11 in service. China ranks second with three ships launched.

Newsweek‘s weekly update maps U.S. and Chinese aircraft carrier movements in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. As of September 6, the locations of at least eight ships were publicly available via military disclosures or open-source satellite imagery.

U.S. Navy

USS Carl Vinson and USS George Washington: San Diego, California

The Carl Vinson and the George Washington were spotted pierside at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego as of Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a ship spotter’s photos and open-source satellite imagery respectively.

Sailors assigned to the George Washington also took an examination aboard on Thursday while pierside at North Island, according to official photos published by the Navy.

The Carl Vinson returned to North Island last month after taking part in the Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC naval exercises off the Hawaiian Islands.

The George Washington conducted a hull swap at North Island with sister ship USS Ronald Reagan in preparation for its deployment to Yokosuka naval base in Japan this fall. A hull swap refers to an operational transition between two aircraft carriers.

USS Ronald Reagan: Bremerton, Washington

The Ronald Reagan arrived at Bremerton on August 13, following a hull swap at North Island. It was previously serving as the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier in Japan since 2015.

It is being prepared for an estimated 17-month maintenance program that is scheduled to begin in March 2025 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton.

USS Nimitz: Eastern Pacific Ocean

The lead ship of the 100,000-ton Nimitz-class supercarriers departed from Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton on Wednesday, according to a ship spotter’s photo.

Commissioned in 1975 and serving in the Navy for nearly a half-century, the Nimitz is currently scheduled to begin inactivation and defueling in 2026 and to be completed by 2030, U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported.

The rest of the West Coast-based American aircraft carriers, USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln, were currently deploying in the Middle East as part of the Pentagon’s plan of increasing the U.S. military presence in the region amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.

Satellite imagery captured on Tuesday appeared to show the Theodore Roosevelt in the Gulf of Oman, while the Abraham Lincoln was in the Gulf of Aden on Monday and heading toward the Red Sea. Both of them were retasked from scheduled deployments in the Western Pacific Ocean.

People’s Liberation Army Navy

CNS Liaoning: Bohai Sea

China’s first operational aircraft carrier, the Soviet-built Liaoning, was underway in the Bohai Sea for training on Wednesday. It was previously moored pierside at its home port in Qingdao, a city in eastern province of Shandong.

CNS Shandong: Sanya, Hainan

No clear view of the Shandong, the second aircraft carrier in service with the Chinese navy, according to satellite imagery of Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan captured on Tuesday. It was presumed still at its home port since last week.

The aircraft carrier and three other warships operated in the Philippine Sea on August 12, Japan’s Joint Staff Office said. The Chinese carrier group returned from the area the next day.

CNS Fujian: Yellow Sea

The Fujian, the Chinese navy’s third and most advanced aircraft carrier, sailed from Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard for the fourth time on Tuesday to conduct a new round of sea trials. Satellite imagery showed it was in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday.

ITS Cavour: The Philippines

The Philippine navy announced on Tuesday that the Cavour and its frigate escort ITS Alpino visited the country’s capital city of Manila. A video posted on Facebook showing the Italian aircraft carrier was in the Manila Bay.

Before visiting the Philippines, the Cavour took part in a joint exercise with naval forces from Australia, France, Germany, and Japan in the Philippine Sea, including JS Izumo, a Japanese helicopter carrier that is being converted to operate fighter jets.