Massive Firepower: What Are the Capabilities of the U.S. Fleet Off Iran?

SadaNews: U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to use military force to support the protesters in Iran, in light of the rising number of deaths and arrests. He stated that he had sent a fleet with "great strength" to the waters of the Middle East, placing the United States on high alert to strike Iran if the president wishes to do so.

But what are the capabilities of this U.S. fleet?

According to the British newspaper "The Telegraph", Trump would not send the fleet to the region without prior study on how to utilize it. It is certain that the equipment has been specially selected to crush Iranian defense systems in case Tehran refuses to cooperate.

The U.S. aircraft carrier "USS Abraham Lincoln" and three "Arleigh Burke" class missile destroyers entered the Middle East on Monday.

Typically, a nuclear attack submarine is lurking beneath the waves nearby.

The carrier strike group boasts massive firepower, comprising 8 squadrons of stealth "F-35" fighter jets, "F/A-18 Super Hornets", and electronic warfare aircraft "EA-18 Growlers".

These combined capabilities were used during the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in Caracas, where "Growler" aircraft were deployed to disrupt and jam radar and communication systems, while "F-35" and "F/A-18" planes conducted airstrikes to neutralize hostile air defenses, allowing special forces helicopters to transport commandos to and from Venezuela with minimal losses.

Similar to Venezuela, the Iranian air defense system relies on Russian technology.

A similar operation is likely to make breaching Iranian "ground-to-air" radar and missile systems relatively straightforward.

However, what is unknown is whether Tehran has managed to rebuild its air defenses after they were destroyed by Israel, which gave "F-35" aircraft and others aerial superiority during the 12-day war.

Accompanying "Abraham Lincoln" on its mission are the destroyers "USSFrank E. Petersen Jr.", "USS Michael Murphy", and "USS Spruance", carrying a series of missile launch platforms to the region that can be used to conduct long-range strikes with land-attack "Tomahawk" missiles.

The United States is also moving "Patriot" and THAAD air defense systems to the area to protect U.S. facilities and its allies from any Iranian response, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Central Command announced via social media that "F-15E Strike Eagles" from the U.S. Air Force have arrived in the Middle East, stating that these aircraft "enhance combat readiness and support regional security and stability".

The Associated Press reported that flight tracking data analysts spotted dozens of U.S. military aircraft heading to the region.

The arrival of the aircraft carrier is believed to have added about 5,700 soldiers to the U.S. military presence in the region, which already numbers about 50,000 troops.

While observers doubt the predictability of Trump's next steps, many agree that the United States is now in a fundamentally different military position in the region; thus, the coming weeks are open to all scenarios, from military escalation to the forcible imposition of a political deal.