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| USS Abraham Lincoln and CSG-3 |
27 January 2026: CSG-3, imaged above, is the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121), USS Spruance (DDG-111) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112). Not imaged above but part of CSG-3 is an unknown U.S. Navy fast attack submarine. Embarked on CVN-72 is Carrier Air Wing-Nine (CVW-9) and Strike Fighter Squadron-Forty One (VFA-41). CVW-9 is three squadrons of F-35 Lightning II's; VFA-41 are F/A-18F Super Hornets.
The kinetic power of CSG-3 is nothing to mess with but its utilization in a strike on Iran is not yet 100 percent certain. Trump's decision, and he's got two camps of advisors, hawks and diplomats.
The hawks want a strike by this coming weekend. They argue for the decimation of the IRGC's combat power and that's the peg leg the Twelver regime is standing on.
The diplomats are said to be holding to a US demand that Iran rid itself of all HEU and end any further enrichment; a limit on the number of ballistic missiles and removal of all support to regional proxy forces in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
What's an apocalyptic Twelver regime to do? Eschatology Today believes the Twelver regime will utterly reject such dictates if they decide to talk. And waiting out Trump until CSG-3 sails away is not an option. That leaves kinetic action, a la Venezuela, from the fleet and stealth from over the horizon. Meanwhile, U.S. forces will move to their on-station positions.
To be continued...
According to Fleet Tracker (USNI) CSG-3 is in the Arabian Sea.
ReplyDeleteThere's good intel that that IRGC are in for a big surprise.
ReplyDeleteA "Compass Call" and "Rivet Joint" are reported to have arrived in the CENTCOM AOR. Big problem for the enemy.
Speaking in Iowa yesterday President Trump said this (emphasis mine): “There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully towards Iran right now. So we will see."
ReplyDeleteOfficially there isn't a deployment notice of another CSG to the CENTCOM AOR. However, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) with
Amphib Assault Ships USS Boxer (LHD-4) and USS Makin Island (LHD-8) did put to sea recently from North Island, San Diego.
Additionally there are three Littoral Combat Ships in the Persian Gulf (5th Fleet) the USS Canberra (LCS-30), USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) and two missile destroyers USS Mitscher (DDG-57) and the USS McFaul (DDG-74).
As Trump said, "we'll see."