USS Nimitz Strike Group Begins First Deployment in Pacific Ocean Since 2013

US aircraft carrier Nimitz and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers embarked on deployment for the US Third Fleet in the Pacific Ocean, the Navy said in a press release on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US aircraft carrier Nimitz and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Kidd and Shoup embarked on routine deployment for the US Third Fleet in the Pacific Ocean, the Navy said in a press release on Friday.

"Nimitz, the flagship of the strike group, Kidd and Shoup will make a brief stop at Naval Air Station North Island to meet up with the other ships and units of the strike group," the release stated.

It is the first deployment of the Nimitz Strike Group since 2013.

The Navy stressed that the deployment was routine and previously planned, "not in response to any specific incident or regional event."

In addition to USS Shoup and Kidd, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers Howard and Pinckney and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton will deploy.

The Nimitz Strike Group is part of the US Third Fleet, which operates in the eastern and northern Pacific areas including the Bering Sea and the Arctic. The Third Fleet also coordinates with the Seventh Fleet, which operates in the Western Pacific including the Korean Peninsula.