Map shows US and China's aircraft carriers in Pacific this week (2024)

This week, a United States aircraft carrier arrived in waters near the Korean Peninsula for a trilateral exercise as North Korea strengthens its military cooperation with Russia.

While tensions between China and the Philippines remain high over the South China Sea, a regional-based Chinese "flattop" has yet to return to its base as of Monday, indicating it continues to patrol the contested waters. Two other Chinese aircraft carriers were pierside.

On the U.S. West Coast, a Japanese helicopter destroyer undergoing conversion into a light aircraft carrier is scheduled to depart soon following trials at sea with American fighter jets. It and its sister ship will be the country's first aircraft carriers since World War II.

Newsweek's weekly update maps aircraft carrier movements in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. As of November 15, the locations of 10 vessels were publicly available via military disclosures or open-source satellite imagery. The U.S. military has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with 11 in service; China ranks second with three "flattops."

U.S. Navy

USS George Washington: East China Sea

Freedom Edge, an exercise between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, was held from Wednesday to Friday in waters south of the South Korean island of Jeju. Participating units included the George Washington, which is scheduled to arrive at Yokosuka, a city in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan, for forward deployment in mid to late November.

USS Ronald Reagan: Bremerton, Washington

A ship spotter's photo shows the Ronald Reagan transiting the Puget Sound southward in the state of Washington on Tuesday. The aircraft carrier was in-port Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton the following day, providing a combat-ready force, the Navy said in photos.

USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson, and USS Theodore Roosevelt: San Diego, California

According to a livestreaming webcam in San Diego, California, the Nimitz departed Naval Air Station North Island on Tuesday and returned the following day. The Navy said the aircraft carrier conducted routine trainings while underway in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, both the Carl Vinson and the Theodore Roosevelt remained pierside at North Island, according to a website that records the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet's deployment history.

People's Liberation Army Navy

CNS Liaoning: Qingdao, Shandong

China's first operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was at its home port in Qingdao in the eastern province of Shandong on Monday, according to the latest satellite imagery that was captured with cloud cover. It joined a dual aircraft carrier operation in late October.

CNS Shandong: South China Sea

Satellite imagery on Monday has captured a naval formation, led by the second Chinese operational aircraft carrier, the Shandong, in waters 316 miles southeast of Sanya; this is a city on the Chinese southern island of Hainan that also serves as the home port of the warship.

The latest satellite imagery of Sanya was captured on Tuesday but with heavy cloud cover, meaning it was unable to confirm whether the aircraft carrier has returned to the base.

CNS Fujian: Shanghai

The Fujian, which is China's newest and most-advanced aircraft carrier, remained pierside at Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard as of Wednesday, according to satellite imagery. The yet-to-be-commissioned warship conducted a new round of sea trials in September.

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

JS Kaga: San Diego, California

Following the completion of onboard trials with the F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jets off the southern coast of California, the Kaga returned to San Diego on November 8.

U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes on Wednesday reported that the Kaga's trials were scheduled to end on November 18, which included transit time from California to Japan.

JS Izumo: Yokohama, Japan

The Izumo, the sister ship of the Kaga, remained at a shipyard in Yokohama to the north of Yokosuka as of Tuesday, according to a local photographer. It will undergo a major refit as part of its conversion into a light aircraft carrier, including its trapezoidal bow converted into a rectangle.