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U.S. Sends Second Carrier Strike Group to the Mideast

USS Carl Vinson has been deployed to join USS Harry S. Truman in the Mideast (USN file image)
USS Carl Vinson has been deployed to join USS Harry S. Truman in the Mideast (USN file image)

Published Mar 23, 2025 11:38 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The U.S. Navy has dispatched a second carrier strike group to meet up with supercarrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Mideast, adding to the security presence in the region during a period of elevated tension. Multiple outlets have identified the second carrier as the USS Carl Vinson, which was previously operating in East Asia alongside Japanese and South Korean forces. 

Yemen's Houthi rebels have threatened to resume strikes on merchant shipping in the Red Sea, and the U.S. has launched a preemptive campaign of airstrikes on the Houthis' leaders and military capabilities. Houthi forces have also carried out two ballistic missile launches at Israeli targets in as many days, though no casualties or physical damage have been reported. The group has also claimed multiple attempted drone and missile strikes targeting U.S. Navy forces in the Red Sea; no hits have been reported. 

U.S. Central Command is carrying out a rolling series of airstrikes within Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen, and continues to post daily imagery of combat operations. The deployment of a second carrier strike group would allow the U.S. military to intensify its operations against the Iran-backed militant group. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also ordered Truman's deployment extended by at least a month, according to Politico. 

Second destroyer heads for southern border

A second U.S. Navy destroyer is joining the mission to police the southern border against smuggling and migration, multiple outlets report. This time, the vessel will be a West Coast homeported warship, according to Military Times.

Rather than sending just littoral combat ships for the patrol mission, the Pentagon opted to deploy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, starting with Mayport-based USS Gravely. The warship got under way last week, and is reportedly headed for waters off Texas. 

USNI News has named the second vessel as USS Spruance. Adm. Daryl Caudle told USNI that the Spruance would be operating in waters near her home port of San Diego - not unlike a training voyage, but with an added Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) on board for migrant interdiction. 

Like Gravely, Spruance's previous deployment was a tour in the Red Sea, combating Houthi drone and missile strikes. As part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, Spruance helped shoot down multiple inbound Houthi munitions, including antiship ballistic missiles, during multiple transits of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb. She returned to San Diego in December after steaming a total of 37,000 miles in five months.