Yemen Monitor / Marib / Special:
Two officials at the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that the aircraft carrier “Gerald R. Ford” (CVN-78) has now begun operations within the area of responsibility of U.S. Central Command in the Red Sea, according to the website USNI News.
The “Ford” had left the eastern Mediterranean late last week and is now positioned in the Red Sea after transiting the Suez Canal. It was accompanied during the passage into the Red Sea by the destroyers “Mahan” (DDG-72) and “Winston Churchill” (DDG-81). The Associated Press was the first to report news of this transit on Friday.
This move comes after the “Ford” departed the Croatian city of Split on April 2, following repairs after a minor fire broke out in a laundry room on March 12 while the carrier was in the Red Sea at the time.
On Saturday, a Houthi official said that “no force will be able to stop the group’s operations” if it decides to close Bab al-Mandab Strait in support of Iran.
This week, the carrier broke the record for the longest deployment in the post–Cold War era, reaching 297 days as of Friday. In this context, Navy officials stated that the mission of the carrier could extend to up to 11 months.
The “Ford” joins the “Abraham Lincoln” strike group and the “Tripoli” amphibious ready group already operating within the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area. The aircraft carrier “Abraham Lincoln” (CVN-72), along with its escort ships and Carrier Air Wing Nine, has been operating in the Middle East since last January. The amphibious assault ship “Tripoli” (LHA-7), along with the amphibious ships “New Orleans” (LPD-18) and “Rushmore” (LSD-47), are also present in the Arabian Sea, carrying the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (based in Japan).
The move toward the Red Sea coincides with a third strike group approaching the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility. USNI News reported last week that the aircraft carrier “George H.W. Bush” (CVN-77) is currently sailing around the southern tip of Africa toward the Middle East to position itself in the Arabian Sea or the Gulf of Oman as part of efforts to impose a blockade on Iran.
