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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.
Seriously? There are subs in every carrier battle group and there are two groups in the Middle East, and it's a good bet that Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf patrols are routine. This is a totally stupid attempt to make everyone believe that this is some kind of "new" military development.
True, but they announced it obviously for a reason.
We are to believe no Ohio Class subs operated in hot political areas prior to this posturing?
Funny game boys. Send Blinky home.
It is disgraceful that this illegitimate regime, full of anti-American Obamunists, would announce that one of our submarines was in the area. That is almost always highly classified. It's always about the show and never about safety or strategy with these incompetent clowns.
This is posturing for a message of "deterrence." Some of the Hamas are claiming that they did not think that the U.S. would be this engaged with this level of support. US Secy of Defense Lloyd was at the EU day of the Oct 7 attack and immediately flew to Israel to show his support and made the announcement of the Eisenhower moving to Med as earlier reported.
It would be criminally incompetent and naïve to do so (could even be construed as treason). Warriors don't talk to their adversaries about the weapons they brought to a battle, they just don't.
Our nuke subs sit offshore WHENEVER there is a crisis and have for decades. Everyone KNOWS they are there but we DO NOT announce it...
We do not live in "normal" times.
We never have had "normal times" by any definition.
Do you know if that DOD released photo of the Ohio Class boat transiting the Suez Canal was a file photo or if it was taken recently?
Looks very much like the ones I remember from April 2023 when Florida made the same passage, INCLUDING the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) appendage installed on the aft deck.
Those are designed to deploy the SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDV) and are removable and not a normal part of our boats but add ons to accomplish a particular mission.
"file" photo as far as we know.
SSGN no SSBN but then you don't do your research