SingaporeUSS Abraham Lincoln crossed the Malacca Strait after 285 days deployed.
A cruiser normally screening the USS George Washington group escorted Lincoln instead, exposing a fleet-wide shortage.
Two other US carrier groups remain in the Middle East enforcing a blockade as Iran and the US trade fire.
The Navy has not explained the cruiser reassignment, confirmed only by tracking data.
How each outlet framed it
- The War Zone
- maps fleet dispersion: Lincoln to Thailand, two carriers enforcing Iran blockade—strategic split between Indo-Pacific and Middle East
Sources: The War Zone