Amid tensions with Tehran, US displays naval power in Gulf

The US Navy kicked off its largest display of naval power in the Gulf in years Wednesday, amid rising tensions with Iran over its clandestine support for Iraqi extremists and unchecked nuclear program.

Two US aircraft carriers sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf along with a helicopter carrier and amphibious assault ships carrying an estimated 2,200 marines, the US Navy said.

“We do maritime security operations here to reassure friends in the region of our commitment, and certainly this is a viable commitment and a visible one that helps security and stability in the waters here,” said Commander Kevin Aandahl, a spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

The carriers USS John Stennis and USS Nimitz will exercise together in the Gulf and the Stennis will conduct air operations in support of US forces in
Iraq, Aandahl said.

Iran ready to hold joint maneuver with regional states

Commander of the Army’s naval forces, Admiral Sajjad Kouchaki said on Wednesday that the force is keen on cooperating with regional countries.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a sport and cultural complex in Rasht, Gilan province, Admiral Kouchaki added, “We are ready to hold joint maneuvers and establish security ties with regional countries to ensure security and tranquility in the region.

“We are able to forge Islamic solidarity and national unity in naval affairs with Persian Gulf littoral states, Oman as well as countries around the Caspian Sea.”
He said, “In line with materializing national unity, we pursue all-out defense strategy.”

All naval entities including the Army’s naval forces and the counterpart in Islamic Revolution Guardian Corps (IRGC) abide by their commitments to the motto of National Unity and Islamic Solidarity.

Labor backs naval missile defence

A LABOR government would support the development of a sea-based theatre missile defence system to protect Australian forces on overseas operations from ballistic missile attack.

Labor defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the Opposition did not have a philosophical objection to ballistic missile defence, but there were fundamental threshold issues associated with developing a national missile defence system.

“An in-theatre system is an entirely different question,” Mr Fitzgibbon said, citing the problem of North Korea’s missiles.

Mr Fitzgibbon said a sea-based system deployed on Australia’s air warfare destroyers could become a critical component of long-term national security.

The Howard Government is studying the feasibility of deploying a theatre ballistic missile defence screen on the navy’s air warfare destroyers, due to enter service from 2013.

Oldest U.S. carrier making last voyage

The USS Kitty Hawk, the U.S. Navy’s oldest ship in full active service, embarked on its last major maneuvers Wednesday before being decommissioned next year.

The 46-year-old vessel — the only American aircraft carrier permanently deployed abroad — eased out of its berth at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, escorted by a carrier strike group of cruisers and guided missile destroyers, Naval spokesman John Nylander said.

The voyage, to last several months in the western and central Pacific Ocean, was expected to be the last major mission for the ship before it is replaced next year by the USS George Washington and sent back to the United States for decommissioning, said Rear Adm. Richard B. Wren, commander of the Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 24th, 2007 and is filed under Iran, Maritime Strategy News, Navy, UK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.