Third nuclear-powered carrier: US moves to send it toward Iran
Photo: US prepares new aircraft carrier to deploy toward Iran (wikimedia.org)
The United States is planning to send a third carrier strike group to the Iranian coast, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Bush, currently stationed near the US coastline, according to Fox News journalist Lucas Tomlinson on X.
"A third US Navy aircraft carrier strike group prepares to deploy for the Iran war," Tomlinson said.
According to him, the nuclear-powered George Bush completed preparations near Cape Hatteras off the coast of North Carolina and is currently awaiting orders to begin transit.
The strike group is planned to proceed to the eastern Mediterranean and deploy in the area previously occupied by the carrier Gerald R. Ford, which passed through the Suez Canal on March 5 and is now in the Red Sea.
Tomlinson noted that dozens of fighter jets on board the carrier, together with missile-equipped destroyers in its escort, could be used to strike potential targets in Yemen if there are signs of Houthi attacks on Israel or international shipping.
Additionally, another US carrier strike group, led by the Abraham Lincoln, is already operating in the area of the US-Israel operation against Iran.
About the George Bush aircraft carrier
The George Bush is a US nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the tenth and final ship of this class. Named after the 41st US President George H. W. Bush, it was laid down on September 6, 2003, launched on October 9, 2006, and commissioned on January 10, 2009.
The carrier has a crew of 3,200, plus 2,480 in its air wing, and can carry up to 90 aircraft and helicopters. Its top speed reaches 56 km/h.
US Navy operations against Iran
On March 4, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth reported that a US submarine destroyed an Iranian vessel near the coast of Sri Lanka. According to the US Secretary of Defense, this was the first ship destroyed by a torpedo since World War II.
Earlier, the US military also destroyed the Iranian ship Shahid Bahman Bagheri, the world's first drone aircraft carrier.
