- Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed to hit USS Abraham Lincoln with four missiles
- The US denied the claim, stating the carrier is fully operational
- The carrier is powered by two nuclear reactors with near-unlimited range
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has claimed it struck the large aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with four ballistic missiles. The US has called it a lie, saying the carrier remains fully operational.
The exchange drew global attention to a warship that has been at the centre of American military power projection for over three decades.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, which has the hull designation CVN-72, started its career in the US Navy in November 1989. It is the fifth of the massive Nimitz class of nuclear-powered carriers.
Approximately 333 metres long and displacing over 1 lakh tonnes when fully loaded, it is among the largest warships ever built. Two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors power four steam turbines, generating 2.60 lakh horsepower.
The reactors can run for over 20 years without refuelling - giving the carrier near-unlimited range, constrained only by the need to resupply its crew and aircraft.
The ship can carry up to 90 aircraft of various types, including fighters, early warning planes, electronic warfare aircraft, and helicopters.
The USS Abraham Lincoln operates as the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, a naval formation that typically includes guided-missile cruisers, destroyers, and a submarine. These give the strike group the combined firepower of a small nation.
This US carrier has had a long and contested relationship with the Middle East. It supported Operation Enduring Freedom after 2001. In 2003, it became the backdrop for one of the most debated moments in recent American military history, when President George W Bush landed on its deck and declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq beneath a banner reading "Mission Accomplished". But the war dragged on for years.
