SAN DIEGO — A San Diego-based aircraft carrier is at the center of the joint U.S.-Israel military operation against Iran, raising concerns locally for the thousands of military families with loved ones deployed aboard the ship.

The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), homeported at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, has been positioned in the Arabian Sea for weeks and is serving as a primary mobile airfield for U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft supporting operations against Iran. The carrier carries approximately 70 to 75 aircraft and thousands of enlisted sailors.

"It's got two nuclear reactors at the same time. You can launch aircraft. It's got four different catapults," said Armen Kurdian, a retired U.S. Navy Captain Pilot who once served aboard the Lincoln. "The way this ship can launch and recover aircraft, it is a well-oiled machine."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck the USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles — a claim the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) flatly denied. "The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn't even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM's relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime," CENTCOM said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Coronado Police reported that residents and commuters should expect traffic delays at all Naval Base Coronado entrance gates due to increased base security measures. Military support resources are available through Fleet and Family Support Centers at NAS North Island and Naval Base San Diego.