The results of the USS Lincoln's return are revealed. Kill marks cover the entire wall.

U.S. Secretary of War Hegseth boarded the Lincoln a few days ago to check the victory marks on the outer wall of the ship island. (DVIDS)

[Reporter Wu Zheyu/Comprehensive Report] The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has completed its 321-day deployment mission and returned to its home port of San Diego. The densely packed "kill marks" on the outer wall of the ship's island also revealed the results of the war against Iran. The latest photos show that the island is painted with at least 103 drones and 34 ship kill marks, symbolizing the large number of Iranian military targets destroyed by the Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group during Operation Epic Fury.

The military news website "The War Zone" reported that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth boarded the Lincoln a few days ago to greet the officers and soldiers who had completed the deployment. Photos released by the Pentagon showed that Hegseth was looking at the victory marks on the outer wall of the ship island. After comparing photos and videos, the outlines of 103 single-pass attack drones and 34 ships can be identified.

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The shape of these drone markings is similar to the Iranian "Witness-136" (Shahed-136), but it should represent various types of downed Iranian drones; the ship pattern uses the outline of a frigate or corvette as a universal mark for destroying surface ships.

However, there are differences between the ship island markings and the results officially announced by the US military. When announcing the Presidential Force Commendation Order awarded to the USS Lincoln Strike Group, Hegseth pointed out that from the beginning of Operation "Epic Fury" on February 28 to the withdrawal from the combat area on August 22, the strike group shot down a total of 77 single-pass attack drones and sank 64 Iranian ships.

In other words, there are at least 26 more drones marked on the ship island than the official number, but 30 fewer ship marks. The U.S. Navy has not yet explained the reason for the discrepancy, and whether the relevant results include interception records by escort ships remains to be further clarified.

The report pointed out that in addition to shooting down drones and sinking ships, the Lincoln strike group carried out a total of 3,693 combat missions during the operation, dropped 1.37 million pounds of ammunition, launched 450 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles, and destroyed 21 anti-ship cruise missiles. It also successfully defended against threats posed by four fast attack craft and wooden sailing ships loaded with explosives.

It is worth noting that the Lincoln carrier aircraft also showed submarine kill marks. An F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter from Combat Attack Squadron 41 (VFA-41) has the outline of a submarine painted on its fuselage; another Marine F-35C fighter has battle results marks that appear to be three submarines, oil tankers, surface ships and ground launchers, indicating that US air forces are also involved in attacking Iranian naval targets.

The Lincoln left San Diego on November 21, 2025. The deployment lasted 321 days, second only to the 326-day record set by the Ford this year, making it the second longest deployment of a modern US military aircraft. However, extremely long missions have also caused controversy over supply shortages, living conditions and mental health of officers and soldiers. Hegseth emphasized when welcoming the ship that the Lincoln was not a symbol of low morale or mission failure, but a representative of the actual combat results of the US military.