A third US carrier, the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise Strike Group is speeding towards the Persian Gulf
dgrm...@telus.net
A third US carrier, the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise Strike Group is
speeding towards the Persian Gulf
June 21, 2007, 12:17 PM (GMT+02:00)
According to DEBKAfile's military sources, the US naval build-up off
the shores of Iran marks rising military tensions in the region,
accentuated by last week's Hamas victory which has endowed Iran with a
military foothold on Israel's southwestern border.
The USS Enterprise CVN 65-Big E Strike Group, the US Navy's largest
air carrier, will join the USS Stennis and the USS Nimitz carriers,
building up the largest sea, air, marine concentration the United
States has ever deployed opposite Iran. This goes towards making good
on the assurances of four carriers US Vice President Dick Cheney
offered the Gulf and Middle East nations during his May tour of the
region.
The "Big E" leads a strike group consisting of the guided-missile
destroyers USS Arleigh Burke DDG 51, USS Stout DDG 55, Forrest Sherman
DDG 98 and USS James E. Williams DDG 95, as well as the guided missile
cruiser USS Gettysburg CG 64, the SS Philadelphia SSN 690 nuclear
submarine and the USNS Supply T-AOE 6>
On its decks are the Carrier Air Wing CVW 1, whose pilots fought
combat missions in the Gulf and Arabian Sea during 2006. The Air Wing
is made up of F/Q-18 Super Hornet strike craft, the Sidewinders Strike
Fighter Squadron VFA-86, the 251st Marine Fighter Attack Squadron MFA,
and the Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ 137.
The 32nd Sea Control Squadron VS consists of S-3B Vikings. The
Airborne Early Warning Squadron VAQ 3 flies E-2C Hawkeye craft. The
Fleet Logistics Support Squadron VRC is based on C-2A Greyhounds.
DEBKAfile's military sources report Washington is considering
deploying the fourth US carrier for the region in the Red Sea opposite
Saudi Arabian western coast to secure the three US carriers in the
Gulf from the rear as well as the Gulf of Aqaba and Suez Canal.