The U.S. is deploying multiple ballistic missile destroyers and B-52 long-range strike bombers to the Middle East in the latest adjustment of forces in the region.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the new deployments, the Pentagon announced on Friday, Nov. 1. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed that multiple U.S. Navy destroyers, as well as U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers, fighter jets and refueling planes will head to the Middle East over the coming months. The move is designed to prevent a gap in naval and air power as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group prepares to leave the region.
“These movements demonstrate the flexible nature of U.S. global defense posture and U.S. capability to deploy world-wide on short notice to meet evolving national security threats,” Ryder said in a statement.
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The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group arrived in the waters around the Middle East in August. It was the latest of four carrier strike groups to deploy to the region. In light of heightened fighting and regional attacks, the U.S. Navy has had an overlapping carrier presence for large portions of time this summer and fall. Since the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group left in September, the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has been operating on its own.
The additional American military assets come after a year of fighting in the Middle East following Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza. The fallout of the war continues, with months of attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi movement, attacks on American bases and troops in several countries including Iraq and Jordan by Iranian-backed militias and Israel’s recent strikes into Lebanon. American forces have deployed with the intention of deterring Iran and its partners, but have also played major roles in intercepting and shooting down drones and missiles launched in the region. Last month the Pentagon said that it would send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or THAAD battery and roughly 100 troops to Israel to bolster its air defenses.
Although the aircraft carriers and their fighter jets have been one of the most notable projections of force — and have been involved in several strikes against Yemen — Navy destroyers have played a major role in intercept missions and engagements in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
It’s also not clear what specific destroyers or fighter squadron is heading to the Middle East. Last month the Navy and Air Force coordinated on major strikes in Yemen, using B-2 bombers to target underground weapons facilities.
Additionally, the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is currently operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. That arrived in the summer, along with a squadron of Air Force F-22 fighter jets.