Three U.S. aircraft carriers are operating simultaneously in the Middle East for the first time since 2003, U.S. Central Command said on Friday, marking the largest concentration of naval power in the region in decades.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Gerald R. Ford and USS George H.W. Bush are currently operating in the area’s waterways, the command said on social media, in addition to their carrier air wings and over 15,000 sailors and Marines.
Together, the three carriers bring together over 200 aircraft with capabilities ranging from electronic warfare to stealth striking. Some of the aircraft include the EA-18G Growler, F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18 Super Hornet and the CMV-22B Osprey.
Aircraft carriers serve as the focal point of U.S. naval power, as they are able to sustain air operations without relying on host-nation bases. Each carrier is accompanied by a strike group that often includes destroyers, cruisers and logistics support vessels.
At least twelve total ships are in the region: the three aircraft carriers and an assortment of accompanying destroyers, the command said. It did not include details about specific operations nor the duration of deployment.
The ships’ presence comes amid continuing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, including disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. has implemented a blockade of Iranian ships and ports that CENTCOM reported in a separate post Friday had thus far “redirected” 34 ships.
The blockade began April 13, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a Friday press briefing that it would continue for “as long as it takes, whatever President Trump decides.”
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.