A Navy destroyer and multiple ground-based air defense systems took part in intercepting Iranian missiles fired at Israel over the weekend. Additionally, the Navy is moving another destroyer to the Middle East in response to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Iran, as missile attacks and airstrikes from the two countries continue for the third day.
American ground, sea and air assets are participating in anti-air defensive operations in the Middle East, according to reports from the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal. The destroyer involved was not identified, but the U.S. military has several ships in the region. Those include the aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson and its carrier strike group, currently in the waters around the Middle East. That strike group has been there since May, when it joined then-ongoing military operations against Houthis.
Additionally, the Associated Press, citing multiple defense officials, noted that the U.S. Army ground-based air defense systems took part in missile interceptions over the weekend. The U.S. Army has Patriot missile batteries in the Middle East including in Iraq, and a Terminal High Altitude Air Defense or THAAD system, which was deployed to Israel in October 2024 along with dozens of soldiers to operate it. The Wall Street Journal reported that several U.S. fighter jets also took part in anti-air operations.
The Navy is moving the USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, to the eastern Mediterranean. The destroyer was operating in the Atlantic Ocean, including taking part in an exercise with partner forces last month. The ship previously took part in the early months of missile interception fights against Houthi forces in the Red Sea in 2023, before it returned to port in January 2024.
Fighting between Israel and Iran broke out on June 13, after Israel carried out several airstrikes around Iran, including the capital Tehran, targeting several high ranking military members and figures in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The two have since exchanged several barrages of attacks, with Iran having launched approximately 200 missiles and as many drones. Both nations have been successfully hit by the other. Israel and Iran had previously engaged in brief fighting last year, with American ground, sea and air-based forces taking part in efforts to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones before they could hit Israel.
Beyond the U.S. military’s established bases in the region, the Pentagon has several additional Air Force and Navy assets in or around the Middle East that were sent as part of Operation Rough Rider, the name for the fight against Houthis that wrapped up in May.
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