Overstretched forces, US reduces aircraft carrier presence in the Middle East

The US Navy has downsized its nuclear-powered "super aircraft carrier" presence in the Middle East, with the USS Roosevelt returning home, leaving the USS Abraham Lincoln alone in the Gulf of Oman.

The move comes after defense analysts raised concerns that the U.S. Navy is struggling to maintain naval superiority in both the Pacific and the Middle East. They argued that a regional crisis involving multiple hotspots in Gaza, the Red Sea, Israel and Lebanon, and Iran has stretched the U.S. carrier force.

Washington began a buildup of forces in the region in August, deploying the Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group in an effort to prevent Iran from carrying out a direct attack on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge sail with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group to conduct joint missions. Photo: Arab Weekly

An earlier Iranian attack on Israel in April – in retaliation for the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus – saw hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones launched simultaneously. US, British and French air and naval forces, working with Israeli jets and missile defenses, shot down more than 90% of those missiles and drones.

But experts say it is the aircraft carrier strike groups – a combat formation supported by destroyers and capable of carrying out up to 200 air strikes a day and firing hundreds of cruise missiles – that are the optimal force for deterrence.

When the Lincoln was deployed, the US claimed that the presence of the two aircraft carriers could make Iran think carefully about how to retaliate for the assassination of Mr. Haniyeh, which Iran blamed on Israel while Israel neither denied nor confirmed.

“We have moved our capabilities into an area that I think we can say is well into Iranian space and will impact their calculus of how and whether they choose to respond,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said last month.

Some analysts point out that although the US has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups in this deterrence mission, neither is in the Red Sea, where US naval forces have been battling Iran-backed Houthi militias.

The Houthis are bringing this vital shipping route to a standstill. About 30% of global container shipping passes through the Red Sea, and traffic has dropped by about 60% since they began attacking ships in the area last November.

Earlier, in October last year, when the Israel-Hamas conflict flared up again in the Gaza Strip, a US Navy admiral said that US ships would "support safe navigation and ensure the free flow of commerce".

Last month, Pentagon press secretary General Patrick Ryder denied there was a “carrier gap,” asserting that the US “has the ability to project forces and capabilities where we need them and when we need them.”

Traditionally, the US Navy has tried to maintain a presence of one of its aircraft carriers – which weigh about 100,000 tons and can carry 70-90 attack and reconnaissance aircraft – in the Middle East. During times of crisis, such as the first Gulf War against Iraq in 1990-1991, that number increased to seven, although some of those ships were not nuclear-powered.

Washington has maintained a certain number of aircraft carriers for years to comply with a rule that stipulates that the US Navy will have "no fewer than 11 operational aircraft carriers".

About four ships are kept at sea at any one time, due to extensive maintenance requirements. All but one currently in service are aging Nimitz-class carriers, which are being gradually replaced by more modern Ford-class vessels. One of these is already in service, with the rest due to be delivered by the mid-2030s.

Minh Duc (According to National News)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/luc-luong-bi-keo-cang-my-thu-hep-hien-dien-tau-san-bay-o-trung-dong-204240912204527764.htm