The US Navy sent the aircraft carrier 'Harry S. Truman' to the Middle East, in support of the Coalition raids against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
The deployment of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier had been scheduled for more than a year, but the Gulf area was expected to receive a carrier within the first three months of next year. The Paris attacks changed the Pentagon's plans. There Truman will remain in service for seven months. The Battle group left Norfolk, Virginia yesterday and will arrive in the Persian Gulf in six weeks. The Group is composed of the Seventh Carrier Air Wing Squadron, the 28th Destroyer Squadron, the Ticonderoga USS Anzio, from the class missile destroyers Arleigh A. Burke, USS Bulkeley, USS Gravely e USS Gonzalez and two class attack submarines Los Angeles. The Truman he will join the only French aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, which will be deployed in an optimal attack position this week.
The US, therefore, returns to the old aeronaval strategy, with the presence of a carrier close to a crisis zone. For about a month, the US had no aircraft carrier in the Middle East after the departure of USS Theodore Roosevelt. This did not happen since the 2007. And to understand how crucial the US strategy is the presence of an aircraft carrier near an operational area, it would be appropriate to list some data. There Roosevelt has made 1.812 sorties for a total of 10.618 flight hours. All of the carrier's aircraft have consumed 14,5 million liters of fuel in total, launching 1085 precision guided systems.
Right from the start, with the departure of the scene Roosevelt, it was clear that the US offensive capacity in the Middle East would be greatly reduced. There Roosevelt brought home 5.000 soldiers and 65 fighter planes. The Pentagon, despite some redeployments from Germany and Italy in Turkish bases, against the Islamic State has in line less than thirty fighters (six of which are dedicated to the protection of Turkish airspace).
The arrival of the USS Theodore Roosevelt exponentially increase US power in the Gulf.
(photo: US Navy)
