In light of the escalating regional tensions in the Middle East the Pentagon has hastened the arrival of a US Navy carrier strike group to the region and ordered one of the navy’s cruise missile submarines to travel there.
In a statement on 11 August 2024 the US Department of Defense (DoD) stated that US Defense Secretary Lloyd J Austin III had spoken with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant that day and reiterated the US commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel.
“Reinforcing this commitment, Secretary Austin has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group,” the DoD stated.
“Additionally, the Secretary has ordered the USS Georgia (SSGN 729) guided missile submarine to the Central Command region,” it added.
USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Theodore Roosevelt are both Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. USS Georgia is an Ohio-class cruise missile submarine (SSGN) that is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.
Tensions in the Middle east were most recently racheted up following the assassination on 31 July 2024 of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was staying at a residence in Tehran, having attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Humiliated by such an high-profile assassination in its own capital, Iran has vowed to respond to the strike, but the form of this has yet to materialise.
