news

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] The current US-led escort operation in the Red Sea has fallen into a rather strange situation: on the one hand, the Yemeni Houthi armed forces have attacked passing merchant ships one after another, with a higher "accuracy rate" than before; on the other hand, the "Roosevelt" aircraft carrier, which had hurried to the Middle East to replace the "Eisenhower" aircraft carrier and continue to lead the Red Sea escort operation, slowed down after entering the Indian Ocean, and even had time to hold joint exercises with the Indian Navy.

Data map of the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier (Visual China)

The U.S. Naval Institute website stated that since the USS Eisenhower, which had been deployed in the Red Sea for nine months beyond its scheduled period, had returned to the mainland, the USS Roosevelt, which was originally deployed in the Western Pacific, rushed all the way to the Middle East after completing joint maritime exercises with Japan and South Korea in early July. This is the first time since the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 that the U.S. Navy has sent an aircraft carrier deployed in the Indo-Pacific region to the Middle East, even leaving a so-called "aircraft carrier combat power gap" in the Pacific region.

The US Navy released a message showing that the USS Roosevelt entered the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca on July 7. But strangely, its speed dropped sharply afterwards. Although the US Central Command said on the 12th that the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group arrived in the US Fifth Fleet's area of ​​responsibility on July 12 to "protect freedom of navigation in the region", satellite images showed that it was still staying near the Maldives on July 13. According to a statement issued by the Indian Navy, the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group had been in contact with the Indian Navy's Visakhapatnam during this period.DestroyerThe US Naval Institute website reported on the 15th that the USS Roosevelt had arrived in the Gulf of Aden that day, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, and was about to enter the Red Sea.

However, the arrival of the USS Roosevelt near the Red Sea did not seem to affect the Houthi armed forces' attacks on passing ships. On the 15th alone, the Houthi armed forces announced that they had attacked three ships in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean using missiles, drones and suicide drone boats. The US Central Command later confirmed the news. Unlike in the past, there was no mention of the USS Roosevelt taking off from the carrier.fighterThere is no news of the USS Roosevelt participating in the interception, and the US military has not launched a retaliatory attack against Houthi targets. So far, there has been no actual dynamic report on the activities of the USS Roosevelt in the Red Sea. Some analysts believe that since the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is close to the Houthi-controlled area, the waters here are narrow and not conducive to the activities of large ships such as aircraft carriers. In contrast, the USS Roosevelt is deployed in wider waters such as the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, which can avoid missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis and avoid the dilemma of the USS Eisenhower being attacked before. At the same time, the Super Hornet fighter jets taking off from the aircraft carrier can take advantage of the long range to go out to the Red Sea to perform patrol and interception missions.

However, how long the Roosevelt can be deployed in the Red Sea is also a question. According to convention, the duration of a single overseas deployment mission of a US aircraft carrier is 6 months. When the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral exercise was concluded and the USS Roosevelt passed through the Malacca Strait to the Middle East, the deployment time of the Roosevelt was close to 6 months. Even if it follows the example of the USS Ford and the USS Eisenhower, which were deployed in the Middle East and the Mediterranean for an extended period of time, the Roosevelt can stay in the Red Sea for a maximum of 3 months and may need to return. At that time, the US Navy will face the so-called "aircraft carrier shortage" in the Middle East. (Chen Yang)