Iran beware: US moves these 6 top of the line strike options into position in the Middle East

Hurry. America’s top strike force is poised to strike Iran. Following Sunday night’s announcement of the rapid launch of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and the transfer of the submarine Georgia to U.S. Central Command control, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said U.S. Central Command is ready to strike Iran and its proxies if Tehran attacks Israel within the next few days.

Air Force F-22 fighter pilots are already unpacking their bags at their Middle Eastern bases, where they arrived on August 8. Below are the top pilots we know of under Central Command’s operational control:

Missile submarine USS Georgia

It’s highly unusual for the Department of Defense to announce a secret submarine. The USS Georgia is a very special ship. Powered by a nuclear reactor, the USS Georgia started life as an Ohio-class “boomer” designed to carry nuclear weapons, then underwent a high-tech makeover to become a conventional guided missile attack submarine. Today, the ship can carry a whopping 154 precision Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. It also houses a SEAL team with mini-submarines. Plus, it’s equipped with highly advanced communications equipment, allowing the USS Georgia to stare down Iran on its own.

US assets deployed in the Middle East would help Israel but are unlikely to change Iran’s mind about retaliating, experts say

Georgia is already conducting exercises in Europe and is currently deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship’s Tomahawk missiles have a range of about 1,000 miles, enough to reach Iran. The advanced Tomahawk missiles can receive targeting updates in flight, giving commanders maximum flexibility to act with the latest information.

8 US Navy Destroyers

There are six in the Persian Gulf and two in the Red Sea, The Washington Post reported on August 2. Crews of ships such as the USS Laboon have been attacking Houthi drones, missiles and unmanned boats for months. The DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer can also fire Tomahawks, but some of the destroyer’s vertical launch tubes will carry Standard missiles for a region-wide air defense, as seen during Iran’s attack on Israel in April.

2 aircraft carriers

Austin ordered the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to accelerate its passage from the Pacific to the Middle East, where the USS Theodore Roosevelt was already conducting continuous flight operations. The nuclear-powered carrier could charge at 35 knots per hour without refueling. The Middle East crisis forced Central Command to station its aircraft carriers in the Red Sea region almost nonstop for 10 months, and four aircraft carriers were needed to fulfill the mission: Ford, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. By moving Lincoln, the Navy would be one aircraft carrier short in the Pacific.

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A squadron of F-35C carrier jets operated by the Marines.

Austin singled out the Lincoln’s F-35Cs on Sunday, because the stealthy carrier-based jets have powerful radar and other sensor capabilities that could threaten Iran. Unusually, the F-35Cs are being flown by a squadron of U.S. Marines; other Marines fly the vertical take-off and landing F-35Bs from amphibious ships. But the squadron is the “Black Knights” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA 314, which trains and flies as part of Carrier Air Wing 9. (Don’t look shocked; the Marines flew from aircraft carriers in World War II and the Korean War.)

F/A-18EF Super Hornet

Yes, that’s the same jet that Tom Cruise flew in the movie Top Gun: Maverick. Carrier Air Wing 11, based on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, has three F/A-18E squadrons that have been busy day and night conducting aerial patrols against Houthi incursions in the Red Sea, working to destroy Houthi drones, missiles and unmanned boats.

FILE – A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft participating in BALTOPS-22 flies over the Baltic Sea region, June 9, 2022. (Air Force Senior Airman Nicholas Swift)

Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle

A ground-attack version of the F-15 air superiority fighter, affectionately nicknamed the “Mad Eagle,” has been operating quietly on the battlefield for years. The F-15E is a true fighter-bomber, with its most experienced pilots logging thousands of combat hours in the war against ISIS. The two-seater F-15E is equipped with air-to-air missiles, guns, and “any nuclear or conventional weapon in the arsenal of the U.S. Air Force.” For your information, Iran.

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Austin’s choice to deploy America’s highest level strike options serves two purposes. The first, of course, is to deter Iran and limit its tactical options as the Islamic State contemplates plans for retaliation. But the specific selection of these forces is to provide Central Command with a sustained, precision strike capability against military targets inside Iran and against Iranian militia groups.

Remember, US B-2 bombers can reach any point on the planet, and B-1 bombers have been used by Central Command to strike targets in Syria, and I would not be surprised to see them in action again with the Joint Standoff Missiles.

Other regional allies such as the UK, France and Jordan are also expected to gain influence.

Of course, China is taking notice of this show of firepower. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued a statement on Saturday supporting Iran’s “dignity” and right to self-defense, whatever that means. Iran is the epicenter of terrorism in the Middle East, and China is Iran’s biggest ally.

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U.S. Central Command’s General Eric Kurilla will soon have everything he needs to defend, deter and counterattack.

As we work to contain this crisis, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the American men and women serving in crisis response missions in the Middle East.

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