The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, recently demonstrated its significant air power capabilities while conducting flight operations in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.
The U.S. Department of Defense shared a glimpse of the operations, highlighting the carrier’s ability to launch and recover aircraft, underscoring the vital role of air power in maintaining dominance over regional waters and airspace.
“Launch and recover. ✈️ 🌊 The @USSHARRYSTRUMAN flexes their air power while conducting flight operations in the @CENTCOM area of responsibility.”
Launch and recover. ✈️ 🌊
The @USSHARRYSTRUMAN flexes their air power while conducting flight operations in the @CENTCOM area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/kIbfWbK66G
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) January 4, 2025
The USS Harry S. Truman is deployed as part of CENTCOM’s ongoing efforts to provide security and support operations in a region of critical strategic importance. The carrier’s operations ensure the continued projection of U.S. military capabilities, reinforcing the United States’ presence.
CENTCOM, or U.S. Central Command, is one of the U.S. Department of Defense’s eleven combatant commands. It is responsible for overseeing military operations across a vast region that spans the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of North Africa.
The area includes some of the world’s most geopolitically sensitive regions, such as the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and the broader Gulf region. CENTCOM’s primary mission is to promote regional stability and secure U.S. interests in this volatile part of the world, including supporting allies and deterring adversaries.
The CENTCOM area of responsibility covers numerous countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, with military and diplomatic focus in key areas like counterterrorism, military readiness, and humanitarian aid. It plays a crucial role in countering regional threats, particularly from groups like ISIS and Iran, and in ensuring the free flow of commerce through vital maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.
The gold standard of sea power.
and it was once ours too
Does anyone know if the American habit of parking all your aircraft on the flight deck all of the time when at sea, results in a higher maintenance penalty? Intuitively you would think that was the case.
Except for the ones in the maintenance rotation that is?
Even maranised airframes suffer from salt water.
But it is their SOP and the engineering supports the SOP and the budgets are shaped round the SOP….
We have a lot smaller budgets so we have to be a lot more careful with our frames – except when we test their use as a Russian style speedboat…..
It’s questionable how useful a carrier would actually be in a peer warfare as it requires such significant escorts and supply lanes and a huge target and the need to operate relatively close to shore to get max useage out of the planes. However their primary aim is for statement setting and having pictures of a carrier with their deck loaded with planes, sets a massively bigger statement, than one with no planes on deck.
Kinda the reverse of a sub, their peace time influence is almost zero as they can’t be seen but in a war they will be critical for keeping supply routes open.
Wonder whether Truman will be authorized to actually curtail Houthi interference in maritime operations? Recent reports state that traffic through Suez Canal and Red Sea has been reduced by approximately 50%, post Oct 7, 2023. Not a great precedent for a nominally peaceful era. Perhaps CENTCOM could borrow a page from the Israeli playbook vs. Hezbollah? 🤔
Its not just houthi that has reduced it, so has the Israel war, if anything more so. Considering Israeli has been accused of war crimes, not sure anyone wants to take a page out of their books.
Also the US and its allies, including the UK, has lost every war they have got involved in for the last 25 odd years. They just haven’t learnt how to adapt to counter insurgency warfare. Not sure starting another is a great idea and realistically troops on the ground is the only long term solution to the problem, along with significant involvement in creating a stable economy.
i think with trump the gloves will come off against the houthis and the military will have a green light to do what needs to be done, same as happened with isis. when obama was in office he said we need to prepare to fight them for a long time and get used to it, thats because the military had extremely ridiculous ROE forced on them and had to get a white house lawyer to approve everything. trump told them to just do what they need to do- no need to get permission. and they made quick work of it. i have no doubt biden is putting the exact same handcuffs on the military- just as he does with ukraine aid- so that should worry not just the houthis but also russia.