Washington [US], August 4: "Although the US aircraft carrier (Nimitz) has formidable defense capabilities and is equipped with high technology, the persistent harassment by Houthi forces raises the debate about the risk of such ships being attacked in modern combat environments, especially when facing non-traditional threats from non-state actors like the Houthis," according to an article on National Interest .
The analysis addresses a clear fact: aircraft carriers are expensive. The Nimitz-class ships cost between $6 billion and $7 billion to build, while the newer Ford-class supercarriers cost around $13 billion. That figure does not include the carrier's air wing and crew of 4,600 to 5,200.
According to the article, aircraft carriers are a tool to demonstrate the political power of a great power. The Americans built aircraft carriers to deal with rivals such as Russia and China. However, while the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was still in the Red Sea, the Houthis announced that they had targeted the American supercarrier.
On June 21, USNI News reported that the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group was on its way out of the Red Sea and the US deployed the Theodore Roosevelt Pacific aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East. The Houthis claimed that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower had to leave the region due to pressure from their attacks, but the US said it was time to rotate after the ship had been in the Middle East for too long, up to 9 months.
The National Interest reported that the US Navy has recently used AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking, infrared-guided missiles that cost between $430,000 and $472,000 to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones that cost between $2,000 and $20,000. And this strategy has proven effective.
"Houthi missiles and UAVs are currently not capable of threatening aircraft carriers like the Eisenhower, but skepticism remains," according to the US magazine.
In a related development, the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has set sail from the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group, according to USNI News on August 2.
USNI News reported that the US Secretary of Defense ordered the reinforcement of ballistic missile cruisers and destroyers to the areas of the US Navy's European Command and Central Command.
The move is aimed at strengthening the US military presence in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Iranian military officials and forces in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen are said to be planning to discuss appropriate retaliation options after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, with Israel accused of being behind it.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
