US sending a powerful submarine to the Middle East is a strong warning to Iran

As of Tuesday, the submarine had not yet arrived in the area, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters. Georgia is still en route, as are other assets such as the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which has also been deployed to bolster the US naval presence in and around the region.

Such a public announcement of the movements of a cruise missile submarine, also known as an SSGN, is significant and unusual, Bryan Clark, a former US Navy officer and defense expert at the Hudson Institute, told Business Insider.

Typically, he said, two or three of the four US SSGNs would be at sea at any one time, “and it would not be unusual for one to be in the Central Command region.”

“What is unusual is for the US to announce that it is moving,” he explained. “DoD does not normally discuss submarine operations. The public announcement suggests an intent to deter Iranian aggression,” he said, referring to the Defense Department by its acronym.

The US military has engaged in this type of signaling in other cases as well. For example, as tensions in the Middle East began to skyrocket last fall, the US military posted photos of another SSGN transiting the Suez Canal. And more recently, the US Navy released photos of a ballistic missile submarine in northern European waters, in another flexing of US naval power.

However, the practice of announcing submarine movements is unusual.

“Secretary Austin saying that Georgia will be in the area is highly unusual, but it sends that deterrent signal to a lot of people who might be considering what they’re going to do next in the region,” Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the former top military general in Europe, told CNN this week.

Iran has vowed revenge after the recent assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, which it blames on Israel. The stated intention in Tehran and among its proxies to retaliate has raised concerns of a potential full-scale regional conflict, putting the US, Israel and other allies on heightened alert.

In an effort to deter Iran, the Pentagon has deployed additional military assets to the Middle East. Along with his announcement of the Georgia deployment, the defense secretary also ordered the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, equipped with F-35C fighter jets, to expedite its transit to the area.

These moves build on an earlier order that also called for the movement of fifth-generation fighters and warships armed with the ability to engage ballistic missiles in position in and around the Middle East.

“These adjustments to the posture of U.S. military forces are designed to improve the protection of U.S. forces, increase our support for the defense of Israel, and ensure that the United States is prepared to respond to a wide variety of contingencies,” Ryder said Tuesday .

The Pentagon press secretary added that Austin and his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, discussed a variety of topics during a phone call on Sunday, including “our efforts to deter aggression by Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned groups around the world. the region”.

The ability to send stealthy and highly capable submarines off the coasts of American adversaries reflects the far-reaching power of the US Navy.

Deploying a guided missile submarine like the Georgia to the Middle East also gives the US a major firepower boost. Georgia carries more than 150 Tomahawk missiles, making it “a significant strike threat” to a variety of key Iranian military assets, Clark said.

“While aircraft would have to fly over Iranian territory to attack targets deep inside the country, such as nuclear weapons facilities or ballistic missile launchers, Georgia could position itself off the coast of Iran and strike any point inside the country with rockets,” he explained. .

That adds significant capability to US forces in the area in the event of a conflict. Ryder said Tuesday, however, that the main U.S. goal is to prevent a fight in the first place.

“Our focus is on de-escalating the situation,” he said. “We put these additional capabilities in the region to allow us, as we’ve pointed out, to protect our forces, but also to support Israel’s defense should it be attacked.”