US Announces Presence of Nuclear-Capable Submarine in the Middle East

 

It's unclear if the Ohio-class submarine is armed with cruise missiles or nuclear ballistic missiles

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onNovember 6, 2023CategoriesNewsTagsCENTCOM, middle east

The US military announced on Sunday that a US nuclear-powered submarine was in the Middle East in the latest provocation aimed at warning regional actors against attacking Israel or US forces.

US Central Command said an Ohio-class submarine entered the region, but it’s unclear if it is armed with nuclear weapons. The US has 14 Ohio-class submarines capable of carrying nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles and four that have been converted to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Either way, the US submarines represent another form of substantial American firepower in the region. The US typically does not announce the location of its Ohio-class submarines unless it’s looking to send a threatening message. The US recently docked a nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s, a significant provocation toward North Korea.

Since the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, the US has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups, air defenses, more troops, and additional fighter jets and bombers to the region. US MQ-9 Reaper drones are also flying over Gaza, and US special operations forces are in Israel.

The show of force has not deterred attacks on US forces based in Syria and Iraq, and Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade fire across the Lebanon-Israel border. Yemen’s Houthis have also fired missiles and drones at Israel and said the attacks would continue until Israel ends its onslaught on Gaza

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/11/06/us-announces-presence-of-nuclear-capable-submarine-in-the-middle-east/