CENTCOM Says for First Time in 23 Years Three Carriers Are in Middle East
U.S. Central Command, responsible for the Middle East and the current war in Iran, confirmed on Friday that three U.S. Navy carriers are now in the region. It said it was the first time three carriers had been deployed concurrently to the region since 2003, and it represents a massive amount of firepower.
It confirmed that the carrier USS George H.W. Bush had entered its area of responsibility in the Indian Ocean on April 23. The carrier had departed Norfolk, Virginia, in early March after a training exercise. It was believed to be making the transit around South Africa.
Last Friday, April 17, the Associated Press also reported that the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford had made the transit back through the Suez Canal and was positioned in the northern Red Sea. The carrier had been forced to leave its position after a laundry room fire that damaged the accommodation areas for some of the sailors. The carrier went into the Mediterranean for repairs, first at Souda Bay, Crete, and then on to Croatia, before returning to the Eastern Mediterranean.
USS Abraham Lincoln was positioned in the region in January, in the buildup of forces in the Middle East. Prior to that, CENTCOM had the USS Carl Vinson and USS Nimitz while it was conducting strikes on the Houthis, and before that, deployments of USS Harry S. Truman and USS Eisenhower.
The deployment of the Ford is drawingattention,n as she has been away since June 2025. She has now passed 300 days, making it the longest deployment since the Cold War era and Vietnam. It is expected she could remain overseas until at least May, making it an 11-month deployment.
CENTCOM highlights that with the three carriers, it has 12 destroyers, including USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy, USS Donald Cook, USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill, USS Frank E. Petersen, USS Mason, USS Ross, and USS Bainbridge. The amphibious group led by USS Tripoli also arrived in the region in late March.
Today’s announcement highlights that the carriers have over 200 aircraft deployed with their air wings. In total, CENTCOM says there are over 15,000 sailors and marines.
The buildup comes as Donald Trump told reporters yesterday he has no timeline and will wait until a good deal is reached. He is focusing on the blockade of Iranian ships and ports, with CENTCOM saying it has now redirected a total of 34 ships. It says only one, the containership Touska, disobeyed, being tracked for over six hours before the USS Spruance shot and disabled the ship, and Marines boarded it.
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Before the ceasefire, CENTCOM said the U.S. had conducted over 13,000 strikes in Iran. Trump contends the Iranian Navy was entirely sunk or disabled, leaving only the gunboats. He says U.S. forces are ready to resume the assault if the negotiations do not proceed.