6th November 2023 at 12:16pm
For the first time in decades, the ships and aircraft of two US Navy aircraft carrier strike groups have sailed together in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise.
US carriers USS Gerald R Ford and USS Dwight D Eisenhower drilled for three days along with the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney and two Italian guided missile frigates.
The two carrier strike groups have been operating in the area at the direction of Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, to bolster deterrence in the region.
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“Operating dual carrier strike groups alongside allies and partners in a dynamic environment demonstrates our capability and capacity to respond with agility decisively to any contingency,” explained Vice Admiral Thomas Ishee, the Commander of the US 6th Fleet.
“Our presence sends a clear signal about our commitment to deter aggression and promote stability throughout the region.”
USS Gerald R Ford and its strike group was dispatched following the 7 October attack on Israel amid fears that the escalating conflict could engulf the region.
Forces News previously spoke to International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) naval forces and maritime security expert Nick Childs about the importance of aircraft carriers in projecting power.
He said: “There is no other single weapons system that can deliver the same kind of signal, message, flexibility.”PlayMute
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The Dwight D Eisenhower CSG deployed on 14 October, with the initial intention to relieve the Gerald R Ford CSG that had been operating in the Mediterranean since June as part of the regional US and Nato presence.
The US has maintained a carrier strike group in the region since December 2021.
Shortly after the Hamas attacks in southern Israel, the US Defense Secretary extended USS Gerald R Ford’s deployment and shifted the strike group to the eastern Mediterranean as part of the US effort to keep the conflict from spreading.
