Is Another United States Navy Supercarrier Heading To The Middle East?

The United States Navy now has two Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers en route to Europe and the Middle East. The San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), which departed from her homeport in late November and was operating in the South China Sea until last week, was ordered to the Middle East as part of the U.S. military build-up in the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered military assets to be ready for potential strikes on Iran if the regime continues its violent crackdown on protesters.

The fifth Nimitz-class flattop was spotted departing from the Western Pacific and transiting the Malacca Strait on Tuesday. The carrier and her strike group will cross the Indian Ocean and could arrive in the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf by early next week.

In addition to the supercarrier, the Pentagon also ordered United States Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles that were forward-deployed at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the UK to American air bases in Jordan.

A Second Carrier Now Heading To Europe

The newest and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), departed her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk and is now operating in the Atlantic Ocean bound for Europe. Although it isn’t clear where the warship could head, there has been speculation that CVN-77 will be deployed to the Mediterranean, which could allow the supercarrier to transit the Suez Canal if necessary, should tensions continue to rise between Washington and Tehran.

In a post on its official Facebook page, the carrier announced it was conducting flight deck qualifications and live-fire exercises.

“We’re constantly sharpening our skills so we can stay ready for what’s to come!” the post noted.

Meet The “Avenger”

To date, 10 U.S. Navy aircraft carriers have been named after a president of the United States, while an 11th – the second carrier named for the late John F. Kennedy – is now under construction. However, only CVN-77 was named for a president who was also a naval aviator and she is only the second carrier to be named for a naval aviator, with the USS Forrestal (CV-59) being the first.

Fittingly, USS George H.W. Bush has a vessel call sign is “Avenger,” after the Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bomber that then-Lt. Bush flew during the Second World War.

The motto of the USS George H.W. Bush is “Freedom at Work,” which was adapted from President Bush’s inaugural address, in which he said, “We know what works: Freedom works. We know what’s right: Freedom is right.”

She was officially christened on October 7, 2006. It was a notable event as the former president became the first to attend such a ceremony for his namesake vessel.

CVN-77 was delivered to the Navy in May 2009.

Although it is unclear whether the carrier will be deployed to the Middle East, she has previously taken part in combat operations in the region.

In August 2014, while she was deployed to protect U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf, a pair of F/A-18F Super Hornets launched from the carrier to drop 500-pound laser-guided bombs on ISIS forces near the Kurdish capital city of Erbil. A month later, F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets took part in additional sorties to strike targets at ISIS positions within Syria.

Modernized Design

As with the sister carriers of her class, USS George H.W. Bush measures 1,092 feet (333 m) and displaces more than 100,000 tons, making her one of the world’s largest warships today. Yet, there are also several notable differences from the previous Nimitz-class carriers. CVN-77 features a bulbous bow design that provides greater buoyancy at the forward end of the ship and improves hull efficiency. Additionally, the flight deck has curved edges designed to reduce its radar signature.

The final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, which was modularly constructed like all subsequent carriers in the class from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) onward, was the second carrier after USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) to feature a modernized, smaller island with a new radar tower. That island was repositioned much further aft, meant to improve flight deck access while reducing signature and electronic self-interference.

However, one modern feature of the carrier hasn’t exactly worked as designed and could still require some fine-tuning.

As previously reported, the Vacuum, Collection, Holding and Transfer system has been prone to clogging, leaving all of the carrier’s lavatories out of service at the same time!

Hopefully, that won’t be a problem during this deployment.