A Coronado-based aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson has arrived in the Middle East two weeks after President Trump gave orders to have the giant ship join the USS Harry S. Truman to help fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel attacks.
The USS Carl Vinson normally operates in the Indo-Pacific region. The deployment of its strike group in the Arabian Sea came as suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthis overnight on April 15. American officials repeatedly have linked the monthlong U.S. campaign against the Houthis under Trump as a means to pressure Iran in the negotiations, according to the Associated Press.
The Houthis have launched attacks on Red Sea shipping as a protest against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Since November 2023, the group has sent dozens of missiles and drone attacks on commercial ships, sinking two vessels.
U.S. Naval forces have prevented many of these attacks, but in response to the U.S. presence, the Houthis have started targeting American ships in the Red Sea.
Earlier on April 15, U.S. Central Command posted an update to Facebook declaring 24/7 strikes from the Carl Vinson and the Harry S. Truman across multiple Iran-backed Houthi locations, attaching a video of aircrafts being launched from the floating runways.
The Vinson, with a crew of just over 6,000, features a wing of F-35C Lightning IIs.
The fighter jets are supersonic planes designed to be extremely stealthy, according to Northrop Grumman, a member of the Lockheed Martin-led industry team that designed the aircraft.
The Vinson is accompanied by the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the USS Sterett and the USS William P. Lawrence.
