USS Nimitz Is Conducting Flight Ops in the South China Sea, and China Isn't Happy

The United States Navy has, since 1945, enforced a Pax Americana on the world's oceans, making the seaways (mostly) safe for commercial traffic. Today, in the western Pacific, the United States Navy faces an opponent the likes of which it hasn't faced since, again, 1945: China.

The USS Nimitz, one of the Navy's massive force-projecting nuclear carriers, has entered the South China Sea and is conducting flight operations. The carrier is presumably accompanied by its escorting battle group, including the ships that provide air/missile defense and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) support.

China claims most of the South China Sea as territorial waters, and China is not happy with this development.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz has returned to the contested South China Sea, where it is conducting flight operations under the command of the Japan-based U.S. Seventh Fleet.
In a post highlighting the deployment, the U.S. Department of Defense shared images of EA-18G Growlers from VAQ-139 soaring above the ship, writing, “BRINGING THE HEAT!” and reaffirming that Nimitz is ready to project power and demonstrate lethal capabilities in the region.
The U.S. Navy maintains that Nimitz and its strike group provide a visible and combat-ready presence in the Western Pacific to reassure allies and uphold international maritime law.

Here are the images mentioned, from the United States Department of Defense's X account:

BRINGING THE HEAT! 💨🔥

Aircraft assigned to VAQ-139 soar above the USS Nimitz while conducting flight operations in the South China Sea. Nimitz is deployed in the @US7thFleet, standing ready to project power and demonstrate lethal capabilities. pic.twitter.com/dm3YwzPyxS
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) May 30, 2025

On Saturday, I reported that the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had released a strong statement on how the U.S. and its allies would be working to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, which includes the South China Sea.

The Nimitz's deployment may well be part of that deterrence.

There's a possible catch; there is always a catch. The Nimitz's purpose in the South China Sea is to show the flag, especially to China; this is a "freedom of navigation" exercise, an old Cold War game that has seen a resurgence in the last few years. Russia does it, China does it, and as this deployment shows, we do it. Part of the advantages that America has in this game is our vaunted carrier fleet. Our big floating nuclear-powered air bases, like the Nimitz, are powerful machines. They are our primary method of projecting force, and have the striking ability of the entire air force of some smaller countries. New technology may be changing that, and interestingly enough, Ukraine may have just given us a look at some of it.

Earlier on Sunday, my colleague streiff brought us the news of a daring and unprecedented attack by Ukraine on strategic aircraft and bases deep within Russia, using hands-off automated drone swarms. This is an interesting look at the future of warfare:

There are reportedly specialized drone interceptor weapons in development. Drones, though, may be launched in the thousands, with the capacity to overwhelm defenses, and while drones of the kind used in Russia can't sink an aircraft carrier, they could do considerable damage to detection and signals system and arresting and launching equipment, not to mention damaging or destroying any exposed aircraft, or injuring and killing flight deck crew.

It's a threat we have to take seriously. It's a safe bet China is now looking hard at this kind of technology, after Ukraine's latest demonstration. And China isn't at all happy about the U.S. Navy being in the South China Sea:

Reacting to the Nimitz’s latest deployment, the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command condemned the U.S. Navy’s actions, stating that the U.S. had “deliberately disrupted the situation in the South China Sea” and had “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security … undermined regional peace and stability, and … violated international law and basic norms governing international relations.”

On Sunday, Ukraine gave the entire world an eyebrow-raising demonstration as to what may be accomplished with a swarm of relatively cheap, hands-off, preprogrammed drones. Defenses can be overwhelmed, and significant damage done. It's not inconceivable that such a drone swarm could do serious damage to a modern aircraft carrier or her escorts.

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

Help us report on Trump and Hegesth's successes as they make our military great again. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.