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A U.S. Navy warship has been deployed in the North Pacific Ocean as a naval flotilla of Russian and Chinese vessels approaches Alaska’s outlying islands during a joint patrol.
According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Third Fleet, the destroyer USS Carl M. Levin was underway for “routine operations” on Wednesday. The navy frequently operates in the North Pacific to “support maritime homeland defense.” Newsweek has emailed both the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries for comment.
The USS Carl M. Levin conducted operations in the North Pacific between July 30 and August 6, as revealed by a set of photos released by the Navy. One photo caption states: “The U.S. Navy frequently conducts exercises and operations in the North Pacific Ocean to maintain readiness, refine tactics, deter conflict, and support maritime homeland defense.”
On Wednesday, another photo—taken the previous day—showed sailors observing an undisclosed land area. The photo caption for this image reads: “An integral part of U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. 3rd Fleet operates naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides the realistic, relevant training necessary to execute the U.S. Navy’s role across the full spectrum of military operations.”
Evergreen Intel, an open-source intelligence analyst on X, geolocated the photo near Adak Island, part of the Aleutian Islands, indicating that the warship had presumably left the Port of Adak and was heading north.
The USS Carl M. Levin has been based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii since its commissioning in 2023. It demonstrated its capabilities during an air and missile defense test two years ago by intercepting two short-range ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles. Prior to its current deployment, the warship participated in Los Angeles Fleet Week in late May and visited the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, California for an assessment.
The U.S. Third Fleet wrote on Wednesday: “U.S. 3rd Fleet works together with our allies and partners to advance freedom of navigation, the rule of law, and other principles that underpin security for the Indo-Pacific region.”
On Monday, the U.S. Northern Command told Newsweek: “[North American Aerospace Defense Command] and [U.S. Northern Command] are monitoring the five Chinese vessels operating in the Arctic. Although the vessels are operating in international waters and are not considered a Homeland Defense threat, their numbers represent an increase from years past.”
It remains to be seen whether the Russian and Chinese naval vessels conducting the joint patrol will sail north toward the Bering Sea, which borders Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
