The deployment of a U.S. naval carrier to the Middle East has sparked further questions about America's role as threats of a larger regional conflict may stem from the intensifying war in Gaza, but one expert told Newsweek it may be more common than we think.
Its deployment comes as fighting rages on between Israeli forces and the militant organization Hamas following the deadly October 7 attack that killed at least 1,400 people in Israel. About 240 people were also taken hostage, including Americans. The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 10,000, including more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, per the Associated Press.
On Sunday, United States Central Command, known as CENTCOM, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that a nuclear weapon-equipped Ohio-class submarine was deployed to the area surrounding Israel and Palestine but provided no further details. CENTCOM is responsible for U.S. operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia. Newsweek reached out to CENTCOM for more information.
The Ohio-class submarine consists of 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and four cruise missile submarines (SSGNs). SSGNs no longer function as nuclear ballistic missile load-outs, however, and were converted long ago to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles.
One SSGN can consist of 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, significantly more than the number carried by U.S. guided-missile destroyers and attack submarines. Tomahawk missiles can carry up to a 1,000-pound high-explosive warhead out approximately 1,500 miles.
On November 4, CENTCOM reported that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG) had arrived in the Middle East "as part of the increase in regional posture." The flagship aircraft carries a guided-missile cruiser and guided-missile destroyers.
The public announcement of a nuclear submarine has been deemed as rare by some, though publishing informational facts about its location is not entirely unusual, according to Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Cancian told Newsweek via phone that the U.S. Naval Institute publishes a daily map of carrier battle groups.
"What is unusual is that it's getting so much attention from the government," he said. "The White House and Pentagon talk about it a lot."
The CENTCOM social media posting features a photo appearing to show a submarine treading water through the Suez Canal.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said during an October 24 press briefing that U.S. intentions are for the conflict to not escalate into a wider regional affair.
"Since that Hamas terrorist attack we've also been crystal clear that we do not want to see the situation in Israel widen into a broader regional conflict," Ryder said last month. "And as you've heard President [Joe] Biden, Secretary [Lloyd] Austin and other senior U.S. leaders say, our message to any country or group thinking about trying to take advantage of this situation to widen the conflict is don't."
On November 2, Ryder told the press that the U.S. continues to provide critical security assistance to Israel against additional Hamas attacks. He also mentioned "strengthening our force posture across the region to deter any state or non-state actors from escalating this crisis beyond Gaza."
That message was reiterated by Secretary Austin during a call on Sunday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Cancian said the submarine's presence is likely more for deterrence than for any other reason, considering that nuclear weapons were all but removed from vessels years ago.
According to the U.S. Naval Institute, former President George H. W. Bush announced in September 1991 that all tactical nuclear weapons from submarines, surface ships, and land-based aircraft would be withdrawn. Such weapons were eventually kept in reserve and destroyed, and present-day nuclear weapons remaining in the fleet are those arming Trident II D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Naval vessels today contain many conventional weapons that work in sync with the U.S. Air Force, for example, which has aircraft with available nuclear capabilities, Cancian added.
"I think the carrier is doing a couple of things: one, it's sort of a powerful symbol of U.S. might and a message to Hezbollah, Syria and Iran," he said. "But it's almost certainly doing some air surveillance and watching for missiles coming in.
"It's also probably doing some maritime surveillance in case Hamas tries another similar attack in the future."
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
