The United States has deployed three aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East for the first time in more than two decades.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), and USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) are operating in the region with 12 accompanying warships, more than 200 aircraft, and around 15,000 sailors and marines.
According to CENTCOM, this is the first time in decades that three US aircraft carriers have been deployed simultaneously in the Middle East. The last similar deployment was seen before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The latest arrival, USS George H.W. Bush, entered CENTCOM’s area of responsibility this week and is sailing in the Indian Ocean.
The carrier left Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31 and took the route around the Cape of Good Hope, avoiding the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, where
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