Kumar Bahukhandi
New Delhi: In view of Iran’s possible attack on Israel, Lufthansa has canceled many of its flights till August 21. There will be no flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Erbil till August 21. On the other hand, America has also sent its deadly war fleet towards the Mediterranean.
It is feared that the war will start tonight itself. US Defense Secretary General Lloyd Austin has ordered the guided missile submarine USS Georgia to reach the Middle East soon. This submarine, equipped with deadly 154 land attack Tomahawk cruise missiles, is rapidly moving towards the Mediterranean. Apart from this, USS Abraham Lincoln is also going in this direction with the third carrier strike group. USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is already present there.
Earlier, the US and other countries have jointly tried to ensure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. So that the situation does not worsen when Iran attacks. But Iran is angry after Israel killed Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyya, it will probably attack tonight to take revenge.
Iran, which is going to attack Israel, will also be supported by Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels. That is why the US is rapidly increasing its strength in this area. Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said that Austin has spoken to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant. He also assured that the US will take all necessary steps to defend Israel. It will also help in preventing unrest from spreading.
Pat said that USS Abraham Lincoln was earlier in Asia Pacific. It has received orders to go to the Mediterranean. It is on its way. So that it can replace the Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group already present there. Roosevelt will now return to America from the Middle East.
Last week Austin had said that Lincoln will reach the Central Command Area by the end of this month. But the dilemma right now is that both the Georgia submarine and the Lincoln aircraft carrier are on their way. The time has not been told when they will reach the Middle East.
America’s Ohio class submarine, which is named after a state. This is the second such submarine. This submarine has been working in the US Navy since 11 February 1984. Its displacement is 19,050 tons. The beam of the 560 feet long submarine is 42 feet. The draft is 38 feet. It has a nuclear reactor engine installed in it. There are two geared turbines, an auxiliary motor and a shaft, which give it the power to move inside and above the water.
It can run at a maximum speed of 46 kilometers per hour. It can go to a maximum depth of 800 feet. 15 officers and 140 sailors are deployed inside it. It has four 21-inch torpedo tubes. Apart from this, 154 BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles are deployed. These missiles can be fired in any weather. That is, America can foil Iran’s plans whenever it wants.
It has been working in the US Navy since 11 November 1989. It is deployed at the Naval Air Station on San Diego’s North Island. It is a Nimitz class aircraft carrier. It is the main warship of the third carrier strike group. Its displacement is 1.04 lakh tonnes. The 1092 feet long ship has two nuclear reactors, 4 steam engines and 4 shafts.
The maximum speed is 56 km/hr. It can stay underwater for 20 to 25 years continuously. It can accommodate 3200 naval personnel and 2480 airmen. It is equipped with 14 types of state-of-the-art radars and sensors. They provide information about surveillance, espionage, search, defense from attack, enemy location etc.
Apart from this, a countermeasure suite and a torpedo countermeasure are installed. It is equipped with 2 Sea-Sparrow anti-ship, anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapon systems. Apart from this, 2 RIM 116 Rolling Airframe Missiles are installed, which are small, light, infrared homing surface-to-air missiles. Apart from this, 2 Phalanx CIWS gun systems are installed, which search for enemy helicopters, aircraft, missiles, boats, fighter jets and attack them automatically. 90 fixed wing fighter jets and helicopters can be deployed on it.
Currently, F/A-18E Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning-2, EA-18G Growler fighter jets, E-2D Hawkeye AWACS aircraft, MH-60S Seahawk and MH-60R Sehawk helicopters are deployed on it. Carrier Strike Group is one in which the main warship is an aircraft carrier. Its main warship is USS Abraham Lincoln. This is the third fleet of the US Navy. Active since 2004. Its purpose is to protect the aircraft carrier as well as give a befitting reply to any enemy through the sea. The fighter jets present with this carrier group are F-18 Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning, MH-60R Seahawk, MH-60S Nighthawk helicopters. There is EA-18G Growler aircraft for electronic warfare, E-2D Hawkeye for surveillance and Grumman C-2 Greyhound aircraft for transport.
It has five guided missile cruisers, that is, small warships that can move at high speed and rain missiles. These are – USS Shiloh, USS Princeton, USS Texas, USS California and USS Sterett. Apart from this, it has Destroyer Squadron 21. It has six destroyer warships. These destroyer warships are – USS Fitzgerald, USS John Paul Jones, USS Ingersoll, USS John Young, USS Ingraham and USS Gary. All of these also have hundreds of missiles, which can destroy the enemy.
Apart from this, Carrier Air Wing 11 is attached to it. That is, a group of different types of war equipment, aircraft, surveillance. It has Fighter Squadron 213, 114, Strike Fighter Squadron 94: F/A-18C, Strike Fighter Squadron 22, Attack Squadron 95: A-6E, KA-6D and Electronic Warfare Squadron 135. Apart from this, it has Airborne Early Warning Squadron 117, Sea Control Squadron S-3B and Helicopter Anti-Submarine
