USS Carl Vinson and USS Harry S. Truman represent two of the Navy’s top nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
Hostilities in the Red Sea rage on, as U.S. forces and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continue to exchange fire in the critical waterway. This week, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that Operation Rough Rider is ongoing and has relied on “comprehensive” intelligence in order to take down the Yemen-based terror group while “minimizing risk to civilians.” According to an April 27 press release, more than 800 Houthi-linked targets have been struck over the last six weeks. From command-and-control facilities and air defense systems to weapons manufacturing depots and uncrewed surface vessels, U.S. strikes have certainly hampered the Houthis’ operations.
As detailed in the press release, “The operation has been conducted by a robust assembly of forces to include two Carrier Strike Groups, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group. We are extremely proud of our well-trained and professional forces as they have effectively delivered precise and lethal strikes against Houthi military capabilities.” The Harry Truman has been deployed to the CENTCOM theater of operation since last fall and the Carl Vinson was dispatched to the region on short notice earlier this year.
The Carl Vinson and Harry Truman aircraft carriers
USS Carl Vinson and USS Harry S. Truman represent two of the Navy’s nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. Widely considered to be unparalleled in capability, these warships are armed to the teeth with the fourth and fifth-generation fighter platforms responsible for the majority of CENTCOM’s barrages. These carriers are equipped with steam catapults to help provide lift for heavier airframes when landing or taking off from its shorter flight deck. As explained by Popular Mechanics, “Steam is diverted from the ship’s boilers—steam boilers powered by the ship’s nuclear reactors—and piped up to just under the flight deck, where it is held and pressurized in special tanks. In the meantime, the front landing gear of a carrier aircraft is loaded onto a small, plate-sized shuttle. When the aircraft is ready for launch, the steam is suddenly released and, in a burst of power, accelerates the shuttle—and attached aircraft—down the flight deck to takeoff speeds.”
The Boeing F/18-E/F Super Hornet has specifically been instrumental in intercepting Houthi-launched strikes and carrying out offensive missions in Yemen. The newest Block III Super Hornet iteration is armed with all the lethal munitions. Featuring eleven hardpoints distributed at the wingtips, under the fuselage, and under the wing, the jet can carry a range of short-range Sidewinder missiles, Joint Standoff Weapons, AMRAAMs, Small Diameter Bombs, the Harpoon, the Maverick, and other missiles.
Despite CENTCOM’s frequent strikes targeting Houthi assets in Yemen, the designated terror group has not let up on carrying out barrages directed toward U.S. warships. The Yemen-based group functions as part of Tehran’s “axis of resistance” against the United States and Israel. Following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre against Israel, the Houthis have launched regular barrages of missiles, drones, and other projectiles at international vessels in the Red Sea, demanding an end to the war.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: DVIDS.
