The US is set for a major escalation in the Red Sea against the Houthis with the expected deployment of a second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which the US Naval Institute says will be the USS Carl Vinson.
The Vinson, with nine squadrons of aircraft, about 60 in total – mostly combat aircraft – is redeploying from the Pacific region where it has been carrying out military exercises. It will join the USS Harry S Truman, another Nimitz class aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, which has been launching aircraft strike missions against the Iran-backed movement for more than week, since President Donald Trump said the US would “annihilate” the “barbarian” group.
The Houthis say they will resume attacks on Israel-linked ships in the waterway, which carries about 12 per cent of global maritime trade. At times during the war in Gaza, this has expanded to include attacks on US and UK-linked vessels, as well as ships from across the world, characterised as a general blockade, to involve mistaken targets such as a China-linked oil tanker carrying fuel to Russia last May.
Both US aircraft carriers weight about 100,000 tonnes at full load and are in a years-long process of being phased out and replaced with modern Ford class carriers, currently under construction.
The US has often stationed two nuclear-powered carriers in the Middle East in times of heightened tension. At the start of the crisis in the Red Sea in October 2023, the US deployed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Nimitz class carrier, and the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship with a displacement of about 40,000 tonnes.
Technically, the two vessels would represent a deployment of two aircraft carriers, although the Bataan, which can carry helicopters, F-35B fighters and Harrier II jets, is primarily a military task force vessel and is dwarfed by the nuclear-powered carriers.
The joint strike power of two nuclear-powered carriers operating in the same body of water will be significant and has not been seen in the region since March 2020, when the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Harry S. Truman were deployed to the Arabian Sea, three months after the US and Iran came close to full-scale war. That followed the US assassination of Iran's Maj Gen Qassem Soleimani, senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, in Iraq, and the Iranian ballistic missile retaliation on a US base, in which 100 soldiers were injured.
The last time the US has deployed two nuclear-powered carriers to support the same air campaign was during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Combined, the presence of two US aircraft carriers could result in about 250 air missions in a single day, with each hitting up to six targets.
Such an onslaught is more likely in full-scale war with a major adversary such as Iran. But the Eisenhower, which fought in the Red Sea for eight months after the crisis began, managed peaks of 140 sorties, according to the commander of its Air Wing 3, Marvin Scott.
Many of those missions would have involved patrolling for drone and cruise-missile attacks, a practice also known as “force protection”, as well as conducting waves of strikes on Houthi targets, which began sporadically in January 2024.
US Navy Rear Admiral Marc Miguez said the USS Eisenhower flew seven “deliberate strikes” on the Houthis. The attacks, he told defence analyst Ward Carroll, were based on “pretty good intelligence, where we knew where they were keeping things”, and were aimed at “degrading” the rebel movement's military capability.
Whether Mr Trump intends two carrier groups to turn their full force against the Houthis, or their combined deployment will reduce the strain on the Truman, has not yet been established. Some experts believe the US lacks intelligence detailed enough for such a large campaign.
The years Ramadan fell in May
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WOMAN AND CHILD
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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The years Ramadan fell in May
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
Background: Chemical Weapons
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Sunrisers Hyderabad 178-6 (20 ovs)
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Chennai win by eight wickets
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
