The US Navy’s Deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean

The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, has directed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to begin moving to the Eastern Mediterranean. As part of US efforts to deter hostile actions against Israel or any other allies in the region following Hamas’s attack on Israel, the Strike Group includes the guided-missile cruisers USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), USS Gravely (DDG 107), and USS Mason (DDG 87), and Carrier Air Wing 3, with nine aircraft squadrons and embarked helicopters.

The Eisenhower CSG will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which has arrived earlier this week. The Ford CSG includes the USS Normandy, USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt. Later this week, the US Air Force announced deployment of forces including F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft. This demonstrates the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actors seeking to escalate this conflict.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) deploys from Naval Station Norfolk on October 14, 2023. The Ike Carrier Strike Group will conduct regional security cooperation and operations with NATO Allies and partners.

Carrier Strike Group Two (CSG-2) is a US Navy carrier strike group with a storied history dating back to 1931. The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is the strike group’s centerpiece. The units assigned to Carrier Strike Group 2 include the nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Three, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), USS Monterey (CG-61), USS Vella Gulf (CG-72), and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Mitscher (DDG-57), USS Laboon (DDG 58), USS Mahan (DDG-72), and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) from Destroyer Squadron 22.

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently in service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1977, the ship is one of the ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in active service and bears the name of the 34th President of the United States and General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Dwight D. Eisenhower is scheduled to be replaced around 2029 by the new USS Enterprise (CVN-80), a Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, which began construction in 2018 and is currently in the early stages of construction.