U.S. Carrier Nimitz to Deploy to Persian Gulf

U.S. Carrier Nimitz to Deploy to Persian Gulf

www.defensenews.com

Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz will sail April 2 to support U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Navy said, amid a spike in tensions over Iran’s seizure of 15 British marines and sailors.
The Nimitz, and its battle group of destroyers and guided-missile cruisers, will relieve the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, which this week took part in war games exercises in the Gulf with another carrier, John C. Stennis.
The new battle group will be in position by late April, but there will be no overlap with the Eisenhower, and the number of U.S. carriers in the area would stay at two, a navy official said on condition of anonymity

(visit the link for the full news article)

Officials are saying that this is not a buildup but only to relieve the Eisenhower. I'm getting the feeling though that there may be a military confrontation with Iran soon and this deployment may, in fact, be a reinforcement to the region.

www.defensenews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

No one interested in this? What a shame. I thought this would catch alot of attention.

Hmmm.....let me see. The U.S. has USS Stennis, Eisenhower and, soon, the Nimitz in "troubled waters". Add the French Carrier, De Gaulle, which is also in the region and you have four carriers within striking distance of Iran.

As I recall, American "war plans" against Iran called for four carriers as necessary to initiate a strike.

Could the French be providing the necessary fourth carrier?

I am surprised no one has responded to this. The Nimitz isn't the only supposed to be on the way. I believe towards the middle of April there will be Four US Aircraft Carriers in the region. The two that are already there and the Nimitz and Reagan which should be on station in less than two weeks. Just in time after Easter and Passover which is my bet if and when a military stike will occur against Iran.

The new battle group will be in position by late April, but there will be no overlap with the Eisenhower, and the number of U.S. carriers in the area would stay at two, a navy official said on condition of anonymity

This is what needs to be closely watched, we need to see reports of the Eisenhower returning soon, if we get that report, than this is not a major story, if the Eisenhower stays put....watch out.

If two are in the Persian Gulf and the other two are beyond the Straits of Hormuz they'll still be in range to give Iran a serious pounding.

[edit on 1/4/07 by MikeboydUS]

Originally posted by benevolent tyrant
Hmmm.....let me see. The U.S. has USS Stennis, Eisenhower and, soon, the Nimitz in "troubled waters". Add the French Carrier, De Gaulle, which is also in the region and you have four carriers within striking distance of Iran.

As I recall, American "war plans" against Iran called for four carriers as necessary to initiate a strike.

Could the French be providing the necessary fourth carrier?

I heard nothing about the French carrier being in the region. Can you please post a link concerning this?

Thnaks in advance

I heard nothing about the French carrier being in the region. Can you please post a link concerning this?

Thnaks in advance

Your welcome

French War Games in Persian Gulf
Originally at www.plenglish.com...

Paris, Feb 18 (Prensa Latina) The French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) will be sent to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean next week to take part in military maneuvers, the French Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
The aircraft carrier will be escorted by three frigates, two of them British, a nuclear submarine and a supporting warship, while carrying out maneuvers along with other countries of the area

www.persiangulfonline.org...

Yes, the De Gaulle is there doing joint operations with the Stennis.

Actually the Reagan I believe is still around Japan/Korea area, but is on active duty and could get to the Iran region quickly if needed.

The Eisenhower is scheduled to be relieved by Nimitz. Like said, keep a close eye on what actually happens.

The Nimitz deployment has been planned for awhile now. The Eisenhower has been there since December. That's already 5 months, of a usual 6 month deployment. That's not counting transit times as well, which adds about another month to that. As for the Reagan, she's in WESTPAC. The first part of March, she was working with the Japanese navy. Kittyhawk is down for another few weeks, and Reagan is covering for her while she does her refit and workups afterwards.

Does anyone know if the UK has any of thier carriers in the gulf?

Any way yall look @ it there is gonnabe some firepower in and around that area... All we need now is for either russia or china to send some ships to that reagion....

A friend in Plymouth notified me that HMS Ocean and supporting ships (with Apache's on board) left Devonport today.

Will probably have at least 1 trident capable sub in the gulf too.



[edit on 1-4-2007 by Peyres]

Originally posted by spencerjohnstone

Does anyone know if the UK has any of thier carriers in the gulf?

I don't believe they got any of their carriers there at the moment.

Does anyone hav a current link for Iranian blue water capability? I don't have time to look, that's why I'm asking.

It sure would appear that something is in the works here. All the pieces are being strategically placed for a checkmate.

Thing is the Royal Navy website doesn't mention where the vast majority of the fleet actually is (makes sense, some of these things need to be a secret). I've looked under every area of operation, and none of the big boys seem to be anywhere that matters.

The two aircraft carriers in operation (Illustrious and the Ark Royal) will never both be at home in port. Invincible is sitting on the substitute bench just in case

I'm guessing that at least one is in the Med at the very least, so could get to the Persian gulf pretty quickly. As mentioned above, I think HMS Ocean is about to deploy, which is quite significant. It is relatively new ship to the Navy and it can hold alot of Helicopters with attacking or transportation capabilities

And there is no mention of any of our Sub deployments. If the rumoured blockade is going to happen, then expect to see more movements towards the gulf.

Illustrious is defo in Home waters. I'm not sure where the Ark Royal is? HMS Sutherland is in the Arabian sea

[edit on 1-4-2007 by Peyres]

[edit on 1-4-2007 by Peyres]

For those who are interested, here is the link for HMS Ocean. It certainly sounds like things are warming up.

The Nimitz had better watch out... it has a nasty habit of tumbling through time warps and interfering with previous world wars. It'd be a shame if they didn't get their chance to play in this one.

Is the fact that all this war speculation revolves around Christian and Jewish holidays a coincidence?

Unless there are two HMS Oceans, the HMS Ocean departed on the 21st of March for the Carribean, with a stop in Norfolk Virginia. It's a planned four month deployment in the Carribean.

HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy’s largest warship, left her base port of Devonport, Plymouth, on Wednesday 21 March for a four-month tour of duty in the Caribbean.

The helicopter carrier will be en-route to the West Indies to assist the UK’s overseas dependencies if needed. Additional duties include maritime security and counter drugs patrol. The ship’s huge capacity and flexibility, with her landing craft, fast boats and helicopters, will be invaluable in all these duties.

HMS Ocean will make a high-profile visit to Norfolk, Virginia, where the ship will perform a central role in the annual Azalea festival. This is a huge event in the USA and this year, four centuries after the first British settlers landed in Virginia, it will focus on the UK.
Importantly, the ship will also be in the Caribbean for the beginning of the annual hurricane season and will be ready to come to the assistance of any UK overseas territories should any suffer severe storm damage.

www.royal-navy.mod.uk...