As the second day of Operation Epic Fury unfolds, the Armed Forces of the United States and Israel continue their military campaign against Iran. Although U.S. military superiority is overwhelming, the Iranian Armed Forces are carrying out attacks against military targets in neighboring countries and Israel, as well as against high-profile strategic assets. In this regard, among them are, without a doubt, the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers operating in the region, namely the USS Abraham Lincoln, presumably operating from the Arabian Sea, and the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which arrived off the coast of Israel days ago and is presumably operating from the Eastern Mediterranean.
One of the latest statements issued on social media by United States Central Command (CENTCOM), aimed at refuting reports circulated by Iranian media outlets, confirmed that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was not struck by missiles launched by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Beyond the statement released hours earlier on social media, CENTCOM nonetheless confirmed that the aircraft carrier, as well as potentially other vessels in its Carrier Strike Group — such as guided-missile destroyers — are among the targets designated by Iran in response to the attacks carried out over the past two days by the United States and Israel.
“The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) was not hit. The missiles launched did not even come close. The Lincoln continues launching aircraft in support of the relentless United States Central Command (CENTCOM) campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime,” the Command officially reported, without detailing what type of missiles Iranian forces attempted to use against one of the most strategically valuable assets deployed by the United States in the region.
In this regard, it should be noted that the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps oversees much of the Iranian regime’s cruise and ballistic missile development, serving as the country’s primary instrument of retaliation and counterattack in response to the strikes carried out by the United States and Israel since the early hours of February 28.
Although the statement indicates that “the missiles launched did not even come close,” the threat they represent, as well as the actions and precautions that ships — in this case, aircraft carriers — must adopt, should not be taken lightly.
As a precedent worth mentioning, one can recall the operations conducted last year by the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) while operating in the region, in a similar situation in which it became the target of attacks carried out by Houthi forces, which are supported by Iran.
On that occasion, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier had to conduct high-speed evasive maneuvers, during which the loss of an embarked F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet was reported after it fell overboard. The aircraft, which belonged to Strike Fighter Squadron 136 “Knighthawks,” could not be secured in time and slid into the sea from one of the ship’s elevators.
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