The US Navy will soon deploy a second aircraft carrier in European waters. If it will not be deployed off the coast of Israel, it can be redeployed quickly to support the carrier group already present in the eastern Mediterranean. The 26th Marine Corps Expeditionary Strike Group is also placed on alert. This one is special because he underwent more extensive training before his deployment.
CSG 12 and soon CSG 8
On October 8, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced the deployment of numerous assets around Israel, including the reinforced carrier strike group of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78, Gerald R. Ford class). ). Named Carrier Strike Group 12 or CSG 12, it includes, in addition to the aircraft carrier and its onboard air group, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and four Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. However, since October 11, American authorities have confirmed the deployment of CSG 8, centered around the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69, Nimitz class), in Europe. This deployment had been planned for a long time, with an area of operation first centered on the Atlantic Ocean and then on the Mediterranean Sea.
The two CSGs will carry out two different missions:
- as explained above, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower squadron responds to a need for an American presence in European waters following geopolitical instability in Ukraine.
- the Gerald R. Ford squadron is deployed off the coast of Israel for the sole purpose of deterring a possible attack on Israel, as specified in the October 11, 2023 by John Kirby, spokesperson for the US National Security Council:
“(…)(the ships of CSG 12) are there for the purpose of deterrence to send a message to any potential actor, organization, group, terrorist network or nation-state – to anyone who thinks that, with hostile intent towards Israel – that now is the time to expand and expand conflict that we will take our national security interests seriously.(…)”
The CSG 8 escort ships are not yet known but they will probably be a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and a few Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (in addition to possible support vessels).
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