US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the flagship of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG), has entered the Persian Gulf together with guided-missile cruisers USS Princeton (CG 59) and USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) and guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104).
The carrier entered the gulf for the first time on September 18, after arriving in the Middle East in late July this year.
While in the Arabian Gulf, the CSG will operate and train alongside regional and coalition partners, and provide naval aviation support to Operation Inherent Resolve.
US aircraft carriers and CSGs have been operating in the Arabian Gulf routinely since the early 1990s in support of numerous operations and maritime security, most recently the Abraham Lincoln CSG in late 2019.
The Abraham Lincoln CSG was succeeded by the strike group led by USS Eisenhower (CVN-69). The Eisenhower CSG did not enter the Persian Gulf during its time in the Middle East.
“The Nimitz Strike Group has been operating in the 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO) since July, and is at the peak of readiness,” said Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander of the Nimitz CSG. “We will continue our support to the joint force while we operate from the Arabian Gulf alongside our regional and coalition partners.”
Nimitz is continuing a prolonged presence of US carriers in the Middle East, with at least one carrier present in the region since mid-2019.
