USS Cole – no stranger to the Middle East, including almost being sunk by an Al-Qaeda suicide boat attack at Aden in October 2000 – last night launched Standard missiles to intercept Iranian weapons fired at Israel.

Sister vessel USS Bulkely also took part in the engagement, while USS Arleigh Burke is believed to likewise be on station in the Eastern Med, similarly armed with SM-3 missiles for Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD).

USN vessels launched “a dozen interceptors at incoming Iranian ballistic missiles” according to a US Department of Defense (US DoD) spokesman.

The Royal Navy air-defence destroyer HMS Duncan has been helping provide a shield for the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group (USS Wasp ARG) in the E. Med. As the British defence ministry only says UK forces ‘played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East’ there is so far nothing definitive on her actions yesterday.

Meanwhile, landing ship RFA Mounts Bay, Royal Marines and other British units are reportedly standing by at Cyprus in case an evacuation of UK nationals and others from Lebanon requires naval participation. As was the case in 2006 during the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Evacuation of civilians from the line of fire will also become a mission for USS Wasp and her ARG should things take a further decisive turn for the worse. The French Navy is thought to have sent its own amphibious vessels to the Eastern Med for the same reasons, while other fleets (such as Turkey’s) will be on stand-by too.

Earlier in the week, as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated, the US DoD announced that the US Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is ‘to remain in the US Central Command area of operations past its regular rotation date.’ That means being ready for action in waters close to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.

There will soon likely be a considerable boost to Western naval forces in the Med as the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group recently deployed from the US east coast and was heading across the Atlantic.

* More on all this to come in the next edition of Warships IFR magazine, currently in production. Out 18.10.24.

For detailed info on the USN and its capabilities, try our recently published ‘Guide to the US Navy 2025’.

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