Today's D Brief: Pacific carrier diverted to Mideast; Taliban warns neighbors; Giant naval exercise; CT & great power competition; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
May 26, 2021 10:54 AM ET
The D Brief
Carrier alert: The U.S. Navy’s Japan-based flattop, USS Ronald Reagan, is expected to move closer to the Middle East and Afghanistan this summer to help with the U.S. military’s ongoing drawdown, the Wall Street Journal’s Nancy Youssef and Gordon Lubold report this morning. The Reagan will backfill the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which has been in the Middle East since April.
One big reason this matters: “The U.S. Seventh Fleet, based in Japan, has dozens of other ships and aircraft, but the redeployment of its only available aircraft carrier represents a significant diversion away from Asia.” Read on, here.
Worth noting: The U.S. owns at least 11 aircraft carriers. China is next on the list with just two; India and Italy also have two, but China’s are more modern and China is making at least two more, one of which is believed to be nuclear-powered. Popular Mechanics rolled up the rest of the carrier-operating nations back in December, here. Military.com has still more on the U.S. Navy’s biggest ships and hardware here.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/05/the-d-brief-may-26-2021/174317/
