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Source: Global Times

[Global Times Special Correspondent Xie Zhao] As the outside world warns that Iran is about to launch a large-scale air strike on Israel, the United States has urgently sent a large number of troops to the Middle East. According to a statement from the Pentagon, the US military is sending nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, Aegis warships and fighter squadrons to the Middle East, which played a key role in assisting Israel in intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks in April this year. However, in the context of the current highly tense situation in the Middle East, whether they can arrive in time and play their role again as expected remains unknown.

USS Lincoln rushes to Israel's aid

The Lincoln may be too late

According to Reuters, Jonathan Finner, deputy assistant to the US president for national security affairs, said on the 4th that the US's goal of sending more troops to the Middle East is to reduce regional tensions and defend against attacks on Israel by Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Pentagon announced on the 2nd that it will deploy more warships and fighter jets to the Middle East to increase US military protection and strengthen support for Israel's defense capabilities.

The website of the U.S. Naval Institute revealed that the USS Lincoln will set sail from the Pacific to the Middle East to replace the USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to "maintain the presence of the U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East." At the same time, Pentagon officials also announced that more ships are being sent to the region to respond to threats from Iran. U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin has ordered additional cruisers and destroyers with ballistic missile defense capabilities to the U.S. European Command and the U.S. Central Command. The Pentagon is also taking measures to increase the deployment of more land-based ballistic missile defense systems. In addition, the report also mentioned that the U.S. Navy currently has three large amphibious ships and the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group composed of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit located in the eastern Mediterranean to prepare for the evacuation of non-combatants from Lebanon.

The Times of Israel said that Iran will launch a large-scale attack on Israel in the near future as a retaliation for the assassination of Hamas Politburo leader Haniyeh in Tehran, the Iranian capital. In an interview with US media on the 4th, US Secretary of State Blinken said that Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah's attacks on Israel may begin as early as the 5th local time, while Israel's Jerusalem Post quoted sources as saying that Iran plans to launch an attack on Israel from the 12th to the 13th.

The Lincoln is the first US supercarrier to deploy F-35C stealth carrier-based fighters, with stronger attack capabilities, but the US Naval Institute website admits that the Lincoln, which is currently far away in the Hawaiian waters in the central Pacific, is unlikely to catch up with this emergency operation. It takes two weeks or more to cross the Pacific and Indian Oceans to reach the Middle East. The Roosevelt is also at the end of a six-month overseas deployment cycle. It was deployed to sea on January 11 and will replace the Eisenhower aircraft carrier from July 12 as part of the "Guardian of Prosperity" escort operation to protect merchant ship traffic in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In theory, a large number of "Super Hornet" fighters taking off from the Roosevelt aircraft carrier can launch air-to-air missiles to intercept Iranian drones flying towards Israel. But according to the plan, the aircraft carrier will return to the United States at the end of this summer. The next US aircraft carrier to replace it in the Middle East is the Truman, but the latter is still conducting pre-deployment training on the East Coast of the United States.

Aegis warships play a more important role

The US Defense News mentioned that in April this year, Iran launched a large-scale missile and drone air strike against Israel in retaliation for Israel's attack on the Iranian Embassy in Syria, but with the assistance of the US military, "most of these missiles and drones were shot down." The key role was played by the US Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers deployed in the Middle East. The "Standard" series of air defense missiles they launched successfully intercepted dozens of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched by Iran, and ballistic missiles are the core weapons used by Iran.

The US Aegis warship will play a key role

The website of the U.S. Naval Institute also believes that the Aegis cruisers and destroyers sent by the U.S. Navy to the Middle East will once again play a key role in responding to possible Iranian missile attacks. The U.S. Navy currently has two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers deployed in the Middle East, which are sailing northward along the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to enhance the air defense and anti-missile capabilities around Israel. Defense News said it is unclear which destroyers and cruisers the U.S. Navy will dispatch to provide reinforcements, but the escort ships of the USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group may provide air defense cover nearby, including the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Lake Erie, and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS McCain, USS Halsey, and USS Daniel Inouye. These Aegis warships are equipped with hundreds of "Standard-2", "Standard-3" and "Standard-6" air defense and anti-missile interceptor missiles. The maximum range of the "Standard-6" is about 370 kilometers, and it has the ability to intercept conventional aircraft and ballistic missiles; and the "Standard-3" is specially developed to intercept medium- and long-range ballistic missiles. What makes the US Navy particularly proud is that in the interception mission in April this year, the "Standard-3" missile successfully shot down an Iranian ballistic missile for the first time in actual combat.

But for the US Navy, these ships also face difficulties - they have been deployed for a long time to deal with drone and missile attacks by the Houthi armed forces in Yemen, and their ammunition consumption is large. "Defense News" admitted that in order to intercept the Houthi armed forces' drones worth thousands of dollars, US Navy ships often need to launch multiple interceptor missiles worth millions of dollars, which is "unsustainable" economically. More importantly, according to statistics from the US Naval Institute, US warships and fighter jets are intercepting drones and missiles launched by the Houthi armed forces almost every day. Since the US Navy currently does not have the ability to reload vertical launch system missiles at sea, after the air defense missiles are launched, they must return to a few specific bases to resupply ammunition. Therefore, it is still unknown whether these US warships can cope with Iranian missile attacks for a long time in the future.

Fighter jets are "drone killers"

The U.S. Air Force's F-15E fighter jets also played an important role in assisting Israel in responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks in April this year. Senior U.S. officials revealed at a press conference on April 14 that F-15E fighter jets from the 494th Fighter Squadron and the 335th Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Air Force shot down more than 70 Iranian drones over Israel. These heavy fighters have amazing range and weapon mounting capabilities, can patrol the air for a long time, and use advanced fire control radars to continuously monitor air threats. Because Iranian drones lack evasion and defense capabilities, the F-15E can easily shoot them down with multiple air-to-air missiles and even machine guns.

F-15E fighter jets can easily shoot down Iranian drones

Defense News said that the Pentagon has not yet disclosed where the additional fighter squadron comes from, nor where it will be stationed in the Middle East. "US allies in the region may agree to allow US troops to be stationed, but do not want to disclose relevant information." The New York Times revealed that the squadron will be composed of the most advanced F-22 stealth fighters. However, there are also doubts that if it is simply to intercept Iranian drones or cruise missiles, the fighter's range and bomb load are more important. Most stealth fighters use internal bomb bays and have a small bomb load. In this regard, the role of the F-22 is not as good as that of non-stealth fighters such as the F-15E. If the US Air Force really sends additional F-22s to the Middle East, it is more likely to be a deterrent action against Iran. Previously, the US Air Force deployed F-22s at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. At that time, the outside world believed that its purpose was to "put pressure on Iran."

Is Israel preparing for a preemptive strike?

While the U.S. military is rushing to send additional troops to the Middle East, The Times of Israel revealed on the 4th that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu held a meeting with security officials that evening to discuss possible retaliatory attacks by Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli security agencies are considering the possibility of taking "preventive actions or preemptive strikes" in Lebanon and other places. According to reports, in a meeting with Netanyahu, Israeli officials discussed plans to strike Iran as a deterrent measure. Israeli security officials stressed that only if Israel receives clear intelligence confirming that Iran is about to launch an attack will it authorize this action. Israel's intelligence on this issue needs to match that of the United States, but even if the intelligence does match, Israel may still choose to avoid taking the route of a "preemptive" strike.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech

The Israel Defense Forces recently provided mayors of northern cities with a document detailing what might happen if Israel and Hezbollah went into a "full-scale war." The document predicts that once the war begins, some cities in northern Israel may experience water, power, communications and network outages.

The report also mentioned that the United States is currently unable to determine what actions Iran and Hezbollah will take, but the United States has formed a multinational coalition to prevent the attacks, led by the U.S. Central Command's command center in Qatar.