New satellite imagery captured over the weekend shows the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier entering the Indian Ocean, signaling Washington’s escalating military build-up in the region as part of its war on Yemen and ahead of a possible attack on Iran.
The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named in honor of US Congressman Carl Vinson of Georgia, was originally deployed in the western Pacific. It is now the second US aircraft carrier in West Asia, joining the USS Harry S. Truman.
Last week, the US also deployed a fleet of B-2 Bombers to its base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Together, the US carriers and bombers greatly expand the US military’s ability to launch air and missile strikes on Iran and Yemen.
The satellite imagery and maritime data showed that the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group transited through the Malacca Straits to reach the Indian Ocean.
The US military has been bombing Yemen since March 15, after the country’s Ansarallah-led government announced its intention to resume attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
The US military’s bombing campaign in Yemen has cost nearly $1 billion in under three weeks, according to sources speaking with CNN, who said the campaign had caused a limited impact on the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces’ (YAF) capabilities.
