Posted on 11/06/2023 5:37:14 AM PST by Red Badger
A nuclear-powered Ohio-class submarine has arrived in the Middle East, US Central Command has said, in a rare announcement apparently aimed at deterring regional actors from escalating the conflict. The announcement was made on X, formerly known as Twitter, provided few details, including the name of the vessel or whether it is carrying cruise or nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.
On Saturday, the US had said that a strike group including the flagship aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as well as a guided missile cruiser and guided missile destroyers had also arrived in the region “as part of the increase in regional posture”.
The Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier arrived in the region last month.
The show of strength comes over the weekend while Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been shuffling across the region to Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and in meetings with Palestinian Maahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad.
Blinken has consistently stated that the United States supports Israel's "obligation and right to defend" itself against Hamas stressing how Israel achieves that goal "matters."
"Israel must take every possible measure to prevent civilian casualties," Blinke said during a joint press conference with Egyptian Minister Sameh Shourky and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan on Saturday.
The Secretary of State has repeated stated that the war must not expand and spillover.
This is not the first time a U.S. ballistic missile submarine was deployed to Central Command. Army Gen. Michael Kurilla, the Central commander, boarded the USS West Virginia at an undisclosed location in the Arabian Sea, according to an Oct. 20, 2022, command news release.
The Ohio-class vessels come in two variants that carry either guided missiles like the Tomahawk cruise missile or those that carry nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.
Four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines can carry up to 154 Tomahawks with a range of 1,000 miles. Fourteen nuclear-capable submarines can carry up to 20 ballistic missiles with ranges of 4,000 miles.
The U.S. last publicly announced a submarine visit in July, when the USS Kentucky deployed to South Korea for a port call, marking the first visit of a nuclear-capable American submarine to the country in 42 years.
Doesn’t a sub(s) normally accompany a carrier fleet?
Well, if you’re going to rattle a saber, an Ohio class boomer is a damned big saber to rattle.
Why didn’t we send our all electric subs? We need to be green for the apocalypse…
Seems a bit much for Hamas.
It almost seems like a broader war is coming…
Technically they are ‘electric’.......................
de·ter·rence
/dəˈtərəns,dəˈterəns/
noun
the action of discouraging an action or event through instilling doubt or fear of the consequences.
“nuclear missiles remain the main deterrence against possible aggression”
“Seems a bit much for Hamas.
It almost seems like a broader war is coming…”
************
Yes, it does seem disproportionate.
We’re spreading (and spending) ourselves pretty thin. All these deployments create massive logistical and maintenance issues.
China and Russia must be enjoying watching us get stretched with all these far flung and open ended commitments while at the same time running down the SPR, having a massive debt burden, severe recruiting problems, misplaced military priorities, and a confused foreign policy. Interesting times ahead.
I may be wrong, I’m not a Squid, but I would think we always have subs near the Middle East. This seems a little like propaganda to make Biden appear strong. Feel free to correct me if I am in error.
And, so are locomotives, hybrids
Regimes in trouble love to start wars to deflect attention from their incompetence and malfeasance. The bigger their problems, the bigger the war. Yes, history is rife with it.
Pathetic posturing.
In general submarines entire purpose is to stay hidden.
Yeah, this moron announces it.
Well, that “show of force’ should REALLY stop the bearded men in sandals from rocketing and killing our troops in Iraq and Syria, eh?
Those are usually “attack” subs, not guided missile ones.
I guess the days of acute specialization are upon us. I would think the destroyers with the carrier fleet would have enough tomahawks to do whatever job comes along.
This is nothing more than “showing your d$&@.”
I’m a former Airman, not Seaman.
I’m of the understanding carrier groups have subs attached typically.
Like you said, I think this is a “see how big it is” moment.
When David took Goliath’s sword into battle, he didn’t rattle it.
He used it.
Pray tell how we use a nuc sub in a war against terrorist warriors from desert tribes or holed up in bunkers underneath women and children?
With your last line, the colorful euphemisms simply write themselves.
...and I’ll leave it at that =o)
You are not in error. Your assumption is correct.
I expect things to get very ugly, but I have been wrong many times.
I’ve been expecting a major economic crash for a year or more…
he announcement was made on X, formerly known as Twitter, provided few details, including the name of the vessel or whether it is carrying cruise or nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.
I would guess the former as with the much longer range of the latter, why would you need (or want) to place that vessel in the Med? You could keep them in the Atlantic (much larger body of water) and they could do what they need?
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