Pentagon Sends Another Carrier to Mideast as Iran Conflict Heats Up
As Israel and Iran trade blows, the carrier USS Nimitz has departed the South China Sea and is westbound for the Mideast, according to USNI. USS Carl Vinson and her escorts are already in the Arabian Sea, positioned for possible contingencies.
Nimitz appears to have canceled a planned port call in Vietnam in order to depart swiftly for the Arabian Sea, according to an announcement shared by the U.S. embassy in Hanoi. USS George Washington remains in port in Japan as the sole U.S. Navy carrier in the Western Pacific. The Royal Navy's HMS Prince of Wales has recently departed the Mideast, headed eastbound as part of a scheduled long-distance deployment.
The air campaign over Iran is prompting a minor split in the Trump administration's defense establishment between those who want to help Israel's campaign and those who want to minimize the odds of another long war in the Mideast, according to intelligence-community outlet Semafor. China hawk Eldridge Colby - undersecretary of defense - is believed to favor keeping U.S. military assets in Asia, where they can be used to deter PRC aggression against Taiwan. Gen. Michael Kurilla, head of Central Command, is said to favor relocating more equipment to the Mideast where it can be used to defend or support Israel. (The Pentagon told Semafor that there is no internal split.)
"Right now, we've got assets in the region and we're going to defend them," U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Monday. "We're strong, we're prepared, we're defensive . . . President Trump hopes there can be peace."
Among the assets in the region is the naval base at Diego Garcia, where the U.S. Air Force stations strategic bombers for campaigns in the Central Command area of operations. This small outpost in the Indian Ocean provided the launch pad for strikes in Afghanistan during the War on Terror, and it was recently used for bombing runs over Yemen during the campaign against Houthi militants earlier this year. In May, satellite imaging identified six B-2 stealth bombers and four B-52 strategic bombers on the tarmac at Diego Garcia - all capable of delivering the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the most powerful known conventional bunker-busting bomb. This 30,000-pound bomb would have a far greater chance of reaching Iran's deeply-buried nuclear facilities than anything in the Israeli arsenal.
Open-source flight tracking analysts have noted a surge of nearly three dozen U.S. aerial tankers headed east, most landing in Europe - a critical enabler for a large-scale U.S. "air bridge," if desired. Publicly, President Donald Trump has called for Iran to return to the negotiating table "before it is too late," and he warned Sunday that it was possible that U.S. forces would join the Israeli campaign. On Monday, he called for Iranian citizens to "immediately evacuate Tehran."
As Conflict Heats Up in Iran, Royal Navy Carrier Continues Eastward
Having made its way south through the Suez Canal on May 25, ships of the Royal Navy-led Prince of Wales carrier strike group (CSG) appear to be maintaining their original deployment program, and have not diverted from plan to linger in the Arabian Sea area adjacent to the Iranian conflict zone.
Last spotted in the Red Sea on May 30 off Jeddah before a transit through the Bab el Mandeb, HMS Prince of Wales (R09), logistics ship RFA Tidespring (A136), Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33) and Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond (F239) made a port call in Duqm June 7-9. British Forces enjoy logistic and maintenance facilities in the Omani port, and while the crews of the ships would not have enjoyed the weather, they will have had a chance to take a first run ashore since leaving Portsmouth.
RFA Tidespring (A136) has now replaced HNoMS Maud (A530) as the logistic vessel supporting the CSG, and on June 12 was seen resupplying Canadian Halifax Class frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec (F332) and Spanish Álvaro de Bazán Class frigate ESPS Mendez Nunez (F104). Norwegian Nansen Class frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F311) remains with the CSG, which has now been joined by New Zealand ANZAC Class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha.
Progress of HMS Prince of Wales (R09) across the Indian Ocean (CJRC)
On leaving Duqm, the CSG was spotted in imagery en route to conduct anti-submarine warfare training in the Western Arabian Sea with a submarine and Talwar Class frigate INS Tabar (F44) from the Indian Navy. An F-35B from the RAF’s 617 Squadron on board HMS Prince of Wales made an emergency landing on June 14 at Thiruvananthapuram, possibly caught by unexpected early monsoon weather in the exercise area. During the transit, the CSG exercised with a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft operating out of Cocos Island. The CSG is now making for Australia for further exercise activity.
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