Michael R. Gendron/U.S. Navy via Getty Images
- The US is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean, reports say.
- USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is already set to pass through the general area on a scheduled deployment but could be tasked to waters near Israel.
- Aircraft carriers are often moved around as a show of force as a means of deterrence.
After sending its newest and most advanced aircraft carrier and the accompanying warships in its strike group to the eastern Mediterranean in a show of strength and support for Israel amid its war with Hamas, the US is considering sending a second aircraft carrier into the area, according to multiple reports.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its escorts could join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in waters near Israel in the coming weeks, US defense officials told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. ABC News also confirmed the discussions.
The Eisenhower is already set to head to the Middle East, reportedly via the Mediterranean, this week for a deployment that was planned months ago, but officials are now debating whether or not the carrier should join the Ford or replace it. The Ford, which has been operating in the Mediterranean as part of its first full deployment, had arrived in the eastern part of the waterway as of Tuesday afternoon, VOA News reported.
The US Department of Defense declined to comment to Insider on whether or not there were conversations on tasking the Eisenhower with a mission outside its original deployment plans.
If the Eisenhower does join the Ford, it'll be the first time two carriers were deployed in the area since March 2020, when rocket attacks aimed at Camp Taji, an Iraqi military installation north of Baghdad, killed two American soldiers and one British soldier.
The retasking of the Ford and reported considerations surrounding the Eisenhower speak to growing concerns about the crisis unfolding in Israel after a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday left more than 800 civilians dead and injured significantly more. Israel responded by officially declaring war on Hamas and conducting devastating airstrikes on Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip. There are also expectations that an Israeli ground assault could be coming in the area, which could wreak havoc on the densely populated area, where many have already been killed or injured in the retaliatory strikes.
In response to the attack by Hamas, the US pledged full support for Israel — overall the largest receiver of US military aid — and moved its newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, into waters near Israel. It was an unexpected change in the carrier's first full deployment, which the Ford spent mostly conducting exercises with partners and calls in friendly ports.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier originally commissioned in 1977. Unlike the younger first-in-class Ford, the Eisenhower has seen action with deployments during the Gulf War in the 1990s and the later wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Were the US to move the Eisenhower into position near Israel, it would be a flex of US naval might in a hostile area, providing both logistics and humanitarian support while also unnerving enemy forces.
"Often the presence of an aircraft carrier has deterred potential adversaries from striking against US interests," the Navy says on its website. "Aircraft carriers support and operate aircraft that engage in attacks on airborne, afloat and ashore targets that threaten free use of the sea and engage in sustained power projection operations in support of US and coalition forces."
That's especially noteworthy in Israel right now, as fighting has broken out along the country's border with Lebanon and Hezbollah — and Iran-backed independent group that like Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department — has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces. There has also been troubling rhetoric from Tehran.