![]() ![]() Therein lies the single most important feature of a sea-based force. But here’s the difference in a place like the Middle East: they can’t operate without bases on land-land owned by countries that might not share Washington’s enthusiasm for Israeli security. Of course, America’s Army and Air Force exhibit similar discipline. Few militaries elsewhere can aspire to a similar degree of discipline. ![]() naval forces aren’t just the best equipped in the world, they are the best trained. That’s the way the Navy and Marine Corps think about readiness: you can’t deter unless you are prepared to fight and win. However, as Edward Gibbon said of the Romans, “They preserved peace through a constant preparation for war.” Navy continuously deploys its warships in places like the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf-not to fight wars, but to deter wars. As Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh puts it, “Our main goal is to send a message of deterrence.” The massive naval presence dispatched by the Biden administration thus has one overriding purpose: to prevent the conflict from spreading by threatening consequences for any new aggressors. If other countries in the region sought to take advantage of the current situation, the Jewish state could find its forces challenged on multiple fronts. However, Israel is situated in a rough neighborhood, and its borders are not optimized for defense. ![]() troops to suppress the threat posed by Hamas in the south or Hezbollah in the north. Marines train continuously for this kind of combat, although there is no sign that Israel will require direct support from U.S. All three “amphibs” in the ready group are designed to cope with precisely the kind of contingency that Hamas aggression represents. The amphibious assault ship that serves as the flagship of the Marine ready force, the USS Bataan, hosts rotorcraft and jump-jets (vertical-takeoff and landing fighters) that can land anywhere they are needed without requiring a runway. They also have a potent capacity to attack land targets thanks to their long-range cruise missiles. The seven Arleigh Burke-class destroyers accompanying the carriers are the world’s most advanced air and missile defense warships, capable of simultaneously defending against undersea, surface and overhead threats. Their air wings can sustain total air dominance in the region indefinitely. Both carriers now deployed in the eastern Mediterranean have unlimited range thanks to their nuclear propulsion and can operate for months without resupply. Its air wing includes four squadrons of fighters-each of which can precisely attack multiple targets in a single sortie-and separate squadrons of airborne reconnaissance aircraft and electronic jammers for shutting down hostile radar and radios (including cell phones).Ī Nimitz-class carrier such as the Eisenhower is somewhat less efficient than a Ford class, but still capable of destroying any concentration of hostile forces within days. A Ford-class carrier can sustain over 200 aircraft sorties per day in a crisis. As far as the surface vessels are concerned, they represent the most powerful naval force that any nation in the world is capable of deploying. ![]()
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