How America is amassing its might against Iran as aircraft carrier 'strike groups' and fighter squadrons zero in on the region
If one aircraft carrier 'Strike Group' loitering in the Mediterranean Sea was not sufficiently intimidating, these warships, carrying nine squadrons of combat aircraft, will soon be joined by more. Last night a second 'Strike Group', led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, was steaming towards the region, effectively doubling the US Navy's lethality.
The 50-year-old Nimitz is due to be decommissioned next year. Its involvement in any operations against Iran would 'right the wrongs of history', according to US defence sources, because the carrier was involved in Operation Eagle Claw, an aborted mission to rescue US hostages held in Iran in 1980.
In addition to these two Strike Groups, the US Navy has directed destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to sail east across the Mediterranean. A second destroyer has also been made ready while two more loitering in the Red Sea could also be called upon. There are also further US Navy assets in Bahrain.
The most likely contribution by the US in the days ahead could be provided by its long-range bomber aircraft equipped with bunker-busting bombs.
Iranian nuclear facilities are buried hundreds of feet underground but US B-2 bombers can carry GBU-57 'Massive Ordnance Penetrators' – 20ft-long missiles, weighing 30,000lb, which can strike targets up to 200ft underground. Their 5,000lb explosive payloads detonate once they have tunnelled into the ground.
White House officials said last night that strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities 'were on the table'.
The B-2s are based 3,500 miles away at the joint US/UK military base at Diego Garcia in the Pacific Ocean, the Chagos Island Keir Starmer recently surrendered to the China-friendly Mauritius. At Prestwick Airport in Scotland –which is used by the US to refuel its aircraft for long-distance journeys to places such as the Middle East – aircraft, including the US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III carrier, which transports troops and tanks, were seen.
There are also 46,000 US military personnel stationed in the Gulf and Middle East at eight permanent bases in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The largest US air base in the region is Al Udeid in Qatar – a 60-acre site with almost 100 manned aircraft and a fleet of drones. The largest US Navy facility is in Bahrain, home to its Fifth Fleet. It provides security for commercial shipping under threat of aerial attacks from Houthi rebels based in Yemen.
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