Aircraft on the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier off the Italian coast on Sept. 17, 2023. (Photo from the official X account of USS Gerald R. Ford, US Navy)
BEIRUT — The Pentagon has called on its USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier to return to home waters after an unusual period during which two American carriers were simultaneously deployed in the region, according to U.S. officials cited by the Washington Post.
Since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, the U.S. has maintained its military presence in the region through a chain of aircraft carrier deployments in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. U.S. Army commanders consider these carriers to be an effective deterrent against escalated violence in the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln was sent to the Mediterranean to take over from the Roosevelt in mid-August, but following Hezbollah's retaliatory strike on Israel on Aug 25, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin extended the Roosevelt's deployment, citing concerns of further attacks. The dual deployment was a "rare move" on the part of the U.S. Navy, the Washington Post reports.
According to a report from al-Monitor citing a Pentagon statement from Tuesday, the USS Georgia, an "Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine armed with over 150 Tomahawk missiles," has passed through the Suez Canal, toward the Red Sea.
The Red Sea is the theatre of regular attacks against commercial ships launched by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The "Ohio class" submarines are the largest submarines built for the U.S. Navy. They are 170 meters long and have a weight of more than 18,000 tons once submerged. They are operated by a crew of 15 officers and 140 military personnel.
The USS Georgia had been deployed in the Mediterranean since the aftermath of the strike that killed a high-ranking Hezbollah commander in the Beirut southern suburbs in late July, and the tensions around the strike the party could launch.
On Aug. 25, Hezbollah announced it had responded to the killing by launching a series of strikes on positions along the border and targeting the "Aman" military intelligence base and Unit 8200 in Glilot, as well as the air defense base in Ein Shemer. Israel denied these bases had been hit and cross-border fighting has since returned to the previous rules of engagement.
But Israel and its U.S. allies are still expecting Iran to respond to the killing in Tehran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.