The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) leads the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers JS Ashigara (DDG 178), left front, and JS Samidare (DD 106), left rear, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), center rear, and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), right rear, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), right front, during a transit the Philippine Sea.