USNavy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) left Norfolk Naval Station on Saturday morning, according to ship spotters. Ike’s deployment will take the CSG to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to join USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its strike group, according to a late Saturday Pentagon statement.
“The Eisenhower CSG will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which arrived earlier this week,” reads a statement from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“The increases to U.S. force posture signal the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war.”
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group includes Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Gravely (DDG-107) and USS Mason (DDG-87) and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58). Gravely and Philippine Sea are both based at Naval Station Norfolk, while Mason is based at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.
“Along with the surface ships, the IKECSG is comprised of the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2 staff, the squadrons and staff of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22 staff and the Information Warfare Commander,” the Navy said in a news release earlier this week announcing Ike’s deployment.
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG-59) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Hopper (DDG-70), USS Kidd (DDG-100), USS Sterett (DDG-104) and USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110) make up the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group.
(usni.org)
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