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The retaliatory airstrikes by the Lebanese Hezbollah against Israel have once again escalated tensions in the Middle East. The US Defense News website said on the 27th that the Pentagon immediately announced the deployment of two aircraft carriers in the region "indefinitely" to maintain deterrence. India's Eurasia Times noted that while strengthening the deployment of aircraft carriers in the Middle East, the United States has experienced a "window period" of at least three weeks for aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific, and similar situations are occurring more and more frequently.

The side effects of the USS Roosevelt's extended deployment

Defense News said that after Hezbollah launched a massive airstrike on Israel, the Pentagon decided to extend the deployment of the USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in the region. "The choice to keep the second aircraft carrier in the Middle East means that the US Central Command will have two aircraft carriers and their escort ships available under the threat of a full-scale regional war."

According to reports, the USS Roosevelt rushed to the Middle East in July to replace the USS Eisenhower, which was deployed overdue there. Since the USS Roosevelt went to sea at the end of last year, it has exceeded the normal overseas rotation deployment cycle. The U.S. Navy previously dispatched the USS Lincoln, equipped with F-35C stealth fighters, to replace the USS Roosevelt to continue its deterrence mission in the Middle East. As the situation in the Middle East becomes tense, the Pentagon asked the USS Lincoln to speed up to the region, and the latter arrived at the Central Command area last week. Now U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin has issued an order to extend the deployment period of the USS Roosevelt. Pentagon press secretary, Air Force Major General Pat Ryder, did not disclose how long the deployment of the USS Roosevelt would be extended this time. He said: "I think the deployment of additional troops to the theater sends a very clear message to all participants in the region that the United States is serious about supporting the defense of Israel." At the same time, the U.S. military will "continue to assess the threat from Iran."

The Eurasian Times noted that the aircraft carrier resources invested by the United States to defend Israel have caused an aircraft carrier "window period" in the Indo-Pacific theater. The report said that aircraft carriers play a vital role in the United States' foreign policy and power projection. The Pentagon has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, including 10 "Nimitz" class and 1 "Ford" class. According to the United States' earlier Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy, the US Navy has deployed 60% of its aircraft carriers to the Pacific, but now the US Navy operating in the Indo-Pacific does not have a single usable aircraft carrier, which has caused concern and shock among US military observers.

The U.S. Navy News website detailed that among the six aircraft carriers deployed by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, the Carl Vinson has just participated in the Rim of the Pacific 2024 multinational joint maritime exercise held in Hawaii and has now returned to its home port in San Diego, California for routine maintenance; the Nimitz has just completed a six-month scheduled maintenance and is on standby in Bremerton, Washington; the Reagan, which was originally deployed in Yokosuka, Japan, has returned to the United States to prepare for subsequent overhauls, and the Washington, which replaced it, is currently preparing for a scheduled visit in San Diego and may need to complete the handover of crew and equipment with the Reagan before going to sea. In addition, the Roosevelt and the Lincoln are both deployed in the Fifth Fleet area of ​​the Central Command to deal with major conflicts that may break out in the Middle East. Considering that the Roosevelt has been deployed overseas for a long time, even if it ends its deployment mission in the Middle East, it needs to return to the port for rest and cannot go to sea in the short term. Overall, the U.S. Navy has no available aircraft carriers in the Pacific for the time being, and this state may last at least three weeks.

Similar situations are becoming more and more common

The U.S. Naval Institute website revealed on the 26th that there are currently only four U.S. aircraft carriers deployed worldwide, namely the "Washington" on the west coast of the United States, the "Eisenhower" on the east coast, and the "Roosevelt" and "Lincoln" in the Middle East. There is indeed not a single aircraft carrier in the entire Pacific region.

The Global Times reporter noted that it is not uncommon for US aircraft carriers to have "window periods" in certain regions in recent years. There have even been many cases where "there are no US aircraft carriers that can be deployed immediately anywhere in the world". In 2018, this "global window period for US aircraft carriers" lasted as long as 22 days. In April last year, the US Navy was in an embarrassing situation where the only USS Nimitz was available worldwide.

In the Western Pacific and the Middle East, where the United States focuses on, there are often "gap in U.S. aircraft carrier combat power", and the U.S. Navy has to frequently mobilize aircraft carriers across regions to fill the combat power gap. For example, in 2021, the U.S. Navy rarely sent the "Reagan" aircraft carrier stationed in Japan to the Middle East to support the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, resulting in a "window period" for U.S. aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific. The "Eisenhower" that arrived in the Gulf region last year was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to arrive in the region since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021. After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, there were no U.S. aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific region for more than two months. Similar situations have been repeated since then. At the end of June, as the "Eisenhower" left the Red Sea and returned to the United States, the U.S. Navy was forced to send the "Roosevelt" to the Middle East, resulting in an aircraft carrier "window period" in the Western Pacific. In order to fill the gap, the U.S. Navy urgently dispatched the "Lincoln" aircraft carrier, which had just completed its rest mission, but as the situation in the Middle East became more tense, the aircraft carrier was also transferred away, resulting in the U.S. Navy having no available aircraft carriers in the entire Pacific region.

The Eurasian Times stated, “Observers said this reflects the shortage of available U.S. military resources.” According to the report, Western observer Alex Luck said that although the current absence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Pacific region does not pose a direct risk, it will have long-term effects. For example, the recent gap in the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier combat power in the Western Pacific may make U.S. allies believe that “Washington cannot fully fulfill its military commitments in Asia, which may undermine the credibility of the U.S. defense guarantees to its regional allies.” “The U.S. Navy must manage its scarce aircraft carrier resources more effectively.”

It is related to two factors

Chinese experts interviewed by the Global Times said that the frequent "window periods" of US aircraft carrier deployments are related to the Pentagon's involvement in wars in many places, and are also closely related to the US Navy's own capabilities and planning errors. The Eurasian Times also believes that despite the US Navy's efforts to maintain the presence of aircraft carrier strike groups around the world, due to tensions in many parts of the world and increasingly delayed maintenance schedules, the Pentagon's difficulties in dispatching aircraft carriers are becoming increasingly apparent.

Experts said that according to the "three-three principle" of aircraft carrier rotation deployment, that is, 1/3 of the aircraft carriers are deployed, 1/3 of the aircraft carriers are under maintenance, and 1/3 of the aircraft carriers are in training, it is normal for 4 of the 11 aircraft carriers in service in the United States to be deployed. However, the Pentagon's deep involvement in regional tensions and conflicts is an important reason for its "insufficient" aircraft carriers. For example, this time the United States deployed two aircraft carriers in the region to deal with the situation in the Middle East, resulting in a lack of available aircraft carriers in other regions. In the early stage of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the United States also deployed one or two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Mediterranean for a long time to maintain maritime containment of Russia. Experts reminded that it is not the case that the other 7 US aircraft carriers in non-deployed status cannot be deployed. For example, the "Carl Vinson", "Nimitz" and "Washington" are all on standby before and after deployment, and can quickly resume combat status when necessary.

However, a series of mistakes made by the U.S. Navy in the maintenance and subsequent construction of aircraft carriers are also one of the main factors in the current shortage of aircraft carrier deployment. The overhaul and replacement of nuclear fuel for aircraft carriers can only be carried out at the Newport News Shipyard. Once the progress is delayed, the impact is particularly obvious. For example, the maintenance period of the "Washington" was seriously delayed, causing the "Stannis", which was waiting in line for the replacement of nuclear fuel, to wait in vain at the shipyard for two years. It will take until at least October 2026 to complete this mid-term overhaul. This combat power gap caused by maintenance delays can only be supplemented by the "overtime" of other aircraft carriers. In recent years, the overdue deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers has become more and more frequent. In 2020, the "Lincoln" was deployed for 295 consecutive days, setting a record for the longest deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers after the Cold War; the "Truman" was deployed continuously for 285 days in 2022... These overdue uses have caused the combat readiness of U.S. aircraft carriers to be seriously overdrawn. The earliest "Nimitz" aircraft carrier has been in service for nearly half a century. The US Navy has repeatedly requested to retire it, but the construction progress of the subsequent "Ford" class aircraft carrier has lagged far behind. The aircraft carrier, which has no "successor" and is forced to "work with an illness", has suffered repeated accidents, which in turn has affected the US Navy's global deployment plan.