US sends third aircraft carrier to the Middle East

USS George H.W. Bush is reportedly en route to the eastern Mediterranean following a training exercise.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States Navy has dispatched another Nimitz-class aircraft carrier to the Middle East, Fox News has reported, a move that will bring the total number of nuclear aircraft carriers in the region to three.

The USS George H.W. Bush recently completed a Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), preparing the 102,000-ton vessel for a new deployment.

Following the pre-deployment training exercise, the USS George H.W. Bush returned to its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, before departing for the eastern Mediterranean.

The estimated transit time for the USS George H.W. Bush from Norfolk to the eastern Mediterranean is 10 to 14 days.

Another Nimitz-class supercarrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, is already deployed in the Arabian Sea, while the USS Gerald R. Ford, the first in the Ford line of carriers, recently passed through the Suez Canal on its way from the eastern Mediterranean – after docking in Haifa – to join the USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

Once the USS George H.W. Bush is deployed, it will mark the largest concentration of American naval airpower in support of a single combat mission since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, when five US supercarriers were active in the Middle East.

The USS George H.W. Bush carries 90 fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft, including 75 strike aircraft, adding to the nearly 400 American military aircraft already operating in the region as part of Operation Epic Fury.

Along with the USS George H.W. Bush, the carrier’s entire strike group is expected to be deployed to the Middle East, further bolstering US military assets in the region.