To date, the only unit of the U.S. Navy with the capability to embark fixed-wing aircraft is the LHD USS Bataan. Following the departure of the USS Gerald R Ford, there are currently no American aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean (after over 2 years).
The USS Bataan (LHD-5), a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, facilitates seamless transitions from sea to land battles for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps as the lead ship of an Amphibious Ready Group. Currently, it is known that the ship is sailing in the eastern Mediterranean east of Rhodes.
This information was obtained because this afternoon we were able to track a pair of USMC McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II aircraft flying in that area, evidently launched from the Bataan: these aircraft are part of the ship’s embarked group.
