Jump to content

Show of Force in the Gulf?


Recommended Posts

U.S. launches show of force in Gulf

Aircraft carriers, warplanes feature in maneuvers off the coast of Iran

The Associated Press

Updated: 8:17 a.m. ET March 27, 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by a pair of aircraft carriers and backed by warplanes flying simulated attack maneuvers off the coast of Iran.

 

The maneuvers bring together two strike groups of U.S. warships and more than 100 U.S. warplanes to conduct simulated air warfare in the crowded Gulf shipping lanes.

 

The U.S. exercises come just four days after Iran’s capture of 15 British sailors and marines who Iran said had strayed into Iranian waters near the Gulf. Britain and the U.S. Navy have insisted the British sailors were operating in Iraqi waters.

 

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl said the U.S. maneuvers were not organized in response to the capture of the British sailors — nor were they meant to threaten the Islamic Republic, whose navy operates in the same waters.

 

He declined to specify when the Navy planned the exercises.

 

Aandahl said the U.S. warships would stay out of Iranian territorial waters, which extend 12 miles off the Iranian coast.

 

 

Simultaneous French operations

A French naval strike group, led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, was operating simultaneously just outside the Gulf. But the French ships were supporting the NATO forces in Afghanistan and not taking part in the U.S. maneuvers, officials said.

 

Overall, the exercises involve more than 10,000 U.S. personnel on warships and aircraft making simulated attacks on enemy shipping with aircraft and ships, hunting enemy submarines and finding mines.

 

“What it should be seen as by Iran or anyone else is that it’s for regional stability and security,” Aandahl said. “These ships are just another demonstration of that. If there’s a destabilizing effect, it’s Iran’s behavior.”

 

 

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17810017/"" target="_blank">the story

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From Navy Times

 

U.S. launches show of force in Persian Gulf

By James Calderwood - The Associated Press

Posted : Tuesday Mar 27, 2007 10:25:36 EDT

 

ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS IN THE GULF — The Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, deploying two aircraft carriers and conducting simulated aerial attacks.

 

The maneuvers, involving 15 U.S. warships and more than 100 planes, were certain to increase tension with Iran, which has frequently condemned the U.S. military presence off its coastline.

 

The exercises began four days after Iran captured 15 British sailors and marines whom it accused of straying into Iranian waters near the Gulf. Britain and the U.S. Navy have insisted the British sailors were operating in Iraqi waters.

 

Aboard the carrier John C. Stennis, F/A-18 fighter jets rocketed off the deck in one of a dozen rapid-fire training sorties against enemy shipping and aircraft.

 

“These maneuvers demonstrate our flexibility and capability to respond to threats to maritime security,” said Navy Lt. John Perkins, 32, of Louisville, Ky., as the Stennis cruised about 80 miles off the United Arab Emirates. “They’re showing we can keep the maritime environment safe and the vital link to the global economy open.”

 

At U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl said the U.S. maneuvers were not organized in response to the capture of the British sailors — nor were they meant to threaten the Islamic republic, whose navy operates in the same waters.

 

He declined to specify when the Navy planned the exercises but added they would last several days.

 

Aandahl said the U.S. warships would stay out of Iranian territorial waters, which extend 12 miles off the Iranian coast.

 

A French naval strike group, led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, was operating simultaneously just outside the Gulf. But the French ships were supporting the NATO forces in Afghanistan and not taking part in the U.S. maneuvers, Aandahl said.

 

Overall, the exercises involve more than 10,000 U.S. personnel on warships and aircraft making simulated attacks on enemy aircraft and shipping, hunting enemy submarines and finding mines.

 

“What it should be seen as by Iran or anyone else is that it’s for regional stability and security,” Aandahl said. “These ships are just another demonstration of that. If there’s a destabilizing effect, it’s Iran’s behavior.”

 

The U.S. drills were the latest in a series of American and Iranian war games. Iran conducted naval maneuvers in November and April, while in October the Navy led a Gulf training exercise aimed at blocking nuclear smuggling.

 

In January, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Stennis strike group was being sent to the Middle East as a warning to Iran that it should not misjudge America’s resolve in the region.

 

Iran has grown increasingly assertive in the Gulf as the U.S. military has become bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iranian officials have publicly called on America’s Gulf Arab allies to shut down U.S. military bases and join Iran in a regional security alliance.

 

Gulf Arab leaders have grown increasingly uneasy with the aggressive U.S. stance toward Iran, believing it could provoke an unwanted war that could bring attacks on their own soil. But none has shown interest in an alliance with Iran.

 

In February, then-5th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh said he had assured Arab allies that Washington was trying to avoid “a mistake that boils over into war” with Iran.

 

The Stennis strike group, with more than 6,500 sailors and Marines, entered the Gulf late Monday or early Tuesday along with the guided-missile cruiser Antietam, the Navy said.

 

The Stennis, which had been supporting the Afghan war, joined the strike group led by the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first time two U.S. aircraft carriers have operated in the Gulf since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Aandahl said. The Eisenhower was operating off the coast of Somalia in January and February.

 

Each carrier hosts an air wing of F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet fighter-bombers, EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, S-3 Viking anti-submarine and refuelers and E-2C Hawkeye airborne command-and-control craft.

 

Also taking part were guided-missile destroyers Anzio, Ramage, O’Kane, Mason, Preble and Nitze; and minesweepers Scout, Gladiator and Ardent.

 

[Note the heavy contingent of Aegis escorts and the three Avenger class mine warfare ships. Never know when you might need those, eh Pete ? ;) ]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also taking part were guided-missile destroyers Anzio, Ramage, O’Kane, Mason, Preble and Nitze; and minesweepers Scout, Gladiator and Ardent.

 

[Note the heavy contingent of Aegis escorts and the three Avenger class mine warfare ships. Never know when you might need those, eh Pete ? ;) ]

 

As much as I dislike reading on screen versus paper in-hand, I also try not to scan ahead. In reading the DDG's and Minesweepers, I immediately thought, gee wish they would have listed the minesweeper classes as I am not totally familiar with them and BOOM! Brad lays them right out before me!

 

Thanks Brad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From DefenseNews

 

Posted 03/27/07 12:54

U.S.: Gulf Exercise to Reassure Allies, Not Confront Iran

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, WASHINGTON

 

An unusual exercise involving two U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups in the Gulf is aimed at reassuring friends and allies, not raising tensions with Iran, a Pentagon spokesman said March 27.

He also denied that the two-day exercise involving the aircraft carriers Dwight D. Eisenhower and John C. Stennis is in response to the seizure by Iran of 15 British sailors and marines.

"We are not interested in confrontation in the Gulf," said spokesman Bryan Whitman. "The fact of the matter is ... we have an interest in the stability and security in the Gulf and the United States continues to reassure our allies in the region that we are good partners.”

Exercises involving two carrier strike groups are unusual because two such naval formations are rarely in the same area at the same time.

"This is an excellent opportunity," Whitman said. "These two carriers have never operated together before. This is the first chance they’ve had to operate together.

"The exercise should reassure our friends and our allies of our commitment to security and stability in the region," he said.

The U.S. 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said two air wings from the aircraft carriers will conduct exercises while warships from the strike groups practice anti-submarine, anti-surface and mine warfare.

Whitman said the standoff over Iran’s seizure of the British marines and sailors March 23 in the northern Persian Gulf was a separate matter that is being handled diplomatically.

President George W. Bush ordered a second U.S. carrier to the Gulf in January amid a mounting diplomatic confrontation with Iran over its uranium enrichment program and U.S. suspicions that it is bent on developing nuclear weapons.

The second carrier raised the U.S. naval presence in the Gulf to its highest level since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

But U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other top administration officials have repeatedly denied that the U.S. has plans to attack Iran.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

U.S. wraps up massive Persian Gulf exercises

 

By James Calderwood and Jim Krane - The Associated Press

Posted : Wednesday Mar 28, 2007 22:19:54 EDT

 

ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS — The United States wrapped up a massive military exercise in the Persian Gulf Wednesday, putting on a show of strength for Iran even as the United Arab Emirates became the second Gulf nation to declare it would not take part in any attack on the Islamic Republic.

 

The U.S. has denied any intention to attack. But the public refusals of two allies to help could affect U.S. military options or require shifting of resources if tensions did seriously escalate.

 

Qatar — home to 6,500 U.S. troops and the enormous al-Udeid Air Base, headquarters of all American air operations in the Middle East — said earlier this month it would not permit an attack on Iran from its soil.

 

The Gulf Cooperation Council, a loose alliance of Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Emirates, has called on all its members not to support any U.S. action against Iran.

 

The United States has close to 40,000 troops in the Gulf, including 25,000 in Kuwait, 3,000 in Bahrain, 1,300 in the United Arab Emirates and a few hundred in Oman and Saudi Arabia, according to figures from the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.

 

Gulf Arab nations are increasingly uneasy with the United States’ tough stance against Iran, fearing any outbreak of hostilities could bring Iranian retaliation. All lie within distance of Iranian missiles.

 

Also, Iran has booming trade and tourism links and full diplomatic ties with the Emirates and most Gulf countries.

 

On Wednesday, the Navy wrapped up its largest show of force in the Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with 15 ships, 125 aircraft and 13,000 sailors in an exercise a few dozen miles off Iran’s coast.

 

The maneuvers were meant to show “the commitment of the U.S. to stability and security in the region,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, commander of Strike Group Three — which includes the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis.

 

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown said the Gulf maneuvers were defensive in nature, aimed at keeping open the sea lanes that carry two-fifths of the world’s oil shipments.

 

“We’re not looking for any kind of confrontation with Iran,” Brown said. “The purpose of the exercise is to ensure that no one miscalculates about our commitment to security and stability in the Gulf.”

 

But some U.S. allies were clearly aiming to make it clear they don’t want to be caught in the middle if the situation escalates.

 

“We have assured the brothers in Iran ... that we are not a party in its dispute with the United States,” said United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyana in a statement carried on the Emirates news agency WAM. “We will not allow any force to use our territories for military, security and espionage activities against Iran.”

 

The Emirates “refuses to use its territorial lands, air or waters for aggression against any other country,” Khalifa said.

 

That could prevent the Air Force from flying intelligence missions over Iran with its squadron of U-2 and Global Hawk spy planes based at al-Dhafra Air Base near the Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.

 

The Air Force said Wednesday it had not altered air operations in response to Sheik Khalifa’s statement.

 

Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Pierson, based in Qatar, declined to say whether U-2s were flying missions over Iran, but said the Air Force only operated in international airspace or over countries that had granted permission.

 

In the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Turkey denied access to Turkish territory, forcing U.S. military planners to adjust their plans and to forgo opening a northern front. The refusal ushered in a tense period in Turkish-American relations.

 

Navy Times article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flight Quarters...Flight Quarters

 

Here is a 30 second video of flight deck operations from the recently completed naval exercises in the PG. Found it on Reuters.com

 

reuters video

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flight Quarters...Flight Quarters

 

Here is a 30 second video of flight deck operations from the recently completed naval exercises in the PG. Found it on Reuters.com

 

reuters video

 

Watched it again to make sure the link worked...found myself humming "danger zone" when towards the end the flight deck crew is walking through the catapult steam. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From Defence Talk

 

US jet fighters violate Iran's airspace: military

Agence France-Presse | Apr 2, 2007

 

US warplanes have violated Iranian airspace in the southwestern oil-rich province of Khuzestan, Al-Alam Arabic language news satellite channel quoted a local military chief as saying on Sunday.

 

"Two US aircraft trespassed into Iranian airspace northwest of (the southwestern port city of) Abadan before flying southwest into Iraq," a local Revolutionary Guards commander in Abadan identified only as Colonel Aqili was quoted as saying on the channel's website.

 

"The planes left white vapour trails, attracting the local people's attention," he said, without elaborating on when the alleged incursion took place.

 

The incident happened close to Iran's border with Iraq, where the US and British military are deployed in force.

 

The US is in a mounting diplomatic confrontation with Iran over its uranium enrichment and Western suspicions that Tehran is bent on developing nuclear weapons, a charge vehemently denied by Iran.

 

Washington says it wants a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff, but it has never ruled out a military option.

 

Tensions have spiked since Iran's seizure on March 23 of 15 British marines and sailors for allegedly entering Iranian waters.

 

Iran says the Britons illegally entered its territorial waters while London insists they were in Iraqi waters on a anti-smuggling patrol under UN mandate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stennis group leaves gulf after tensions ease

 

By Philip Ewing - Staff writer

Posted : Friday Apr 6, 2007 6:10:32 EDT

 

The carrier John C. Stennis returned to the northern Arabian Sea to resume supporting NATO ground operations in Afghanistan, the Navy announced April 5, as tensions eased in the Persian Gulf after Iran released British 15 sailors and marines it had captured last month.

 

The Navy made no mention of the British troops’ release in its announcement. Even when the Stennis, the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and their strike groups staged the largest show of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Navy’s 5th Fleet commanders in Bahrain maintained it had nothing to do with Iran.

 

The Stennis left its homeport of Bremerton, Wash., on Jan. 16, for a regularly scheduled deployment and began operating with coalition forces in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility Feb. 19. The carrier Nimitz, which deployed this week from San Diego, is set to relieve the Eisenhower.

 

Find article here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From RIA Novosti

 

No U.S. attack on Iran, oil price hits $70 in expectation

 

TEHRAN, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - Washington did not launch air strikes against Iran early Friday despite recent media reports, but expectations of the attack have driven Brent price to $70 per barrel.

 

Russian and foreign media have recently reported the U.S. could launch an operation, codenamed Bite, against Iran at 4:00 a.m. local time April 6. The operation was expected to deliver air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over a 12-hour period to prevent the country from obtaining nuclear weapons.

 

"We are used to this situation. The Americans have been threatening us for many years, and they keep introducing sanctions against Iran," Majid, a salesman, told RIA Novosti. "But nothing has changed. We continue living and working as usual."

 

"I do not think the U.S. will take the risk - Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan," he said, echoing the opinion of many fellow countrymen.

 

Iran's Defense Ministry declined to comment on possible U.S. strikes Thursday night, saying it was closed for Thursday and Friday, which are days off in the republic.

 

Israel's DEBKAfile Web site quoted intelligence sources in Moscow in late March as saying a U.S. strike against Iranian nuclear sites had been scheduled for April 6 and aimed at setting Tehran's nuclear program back several years.

 

The air strikes were expected to hit a uranium enrichment center in Natanz, about 1,000 miles from the Israeli border, a nuclear research center in Isfahan about 210 miles south of Tehran, a nearby heavy water plant in Arak, and military command centers.

 

Israel, which destroyed nuclear facilities in Iraq in 1981, took charge of the first of 25 U.S.-made F-15I multi-role fighters in 1998. The fighters have a range of about 2,700 miles without refueling and have a load capacity, including air-to-ground missiles, of up to 11 tons.

 

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said Thursday contacts between Moscow and Washington gave no reason to expect U.S. strikes at Iran in the next few days.

 

"I am more than certain that no strikes will be delivered tomorrow, and therefore there is no reason to panic," he said.

 

The U.S. has not excluded the military option in negotiations on Iran over its refusal to abandon uranium enrichment. The UN Security Council passed a new resolution on Iran March 24 toughening economic sanctions against the country and accepting the possibility of a military solution to the crisis.

 

A source in Russian security structures quoted Russian intelligence March 30 as saying the U.S. Armed Forces had nearly completed preparations for a possible military operation against Iran, and would be ready to strike in early April.

 

"Russian intelligence has information that the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in the Persian Gulf have nearly completed preparations for a missile strike against Iranian territory," the source said, adding, though, that the final decision would be up to the country's political leadership.

 

Russian Col.-Gen. Leonid Ivashov, vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Sciences, said last week the Pentagon was planning to deliver a massive air strike on Iran's military infrastructure in the near future.

 

"I have no doubt there will be an operation, or rather an aggressive action against Iran," Ivashov said.

 

A new U.S. carrier battle group has been dispatched to the Gulf. The USS John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200 and around 80 fixed-wing aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers, eight support ships and four nuclear submarines are heading for the Gulf, where a similar group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been deployed, U.S. Fifth Fleet Lieutenant-Commander Charlie Brown said March 21.

 

Russia's leading business daily Kommersant said Friday Brent prices had soared to $70 per barrel, a record for the past seven months, in anticipation of the U.S. attack, despite the release of British sailors and marines detained by Iran on suspicion of trespassing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...