US Navy faces heavy wear on jets and crews in Hormuz blockade
Nightly air operations to protect shipping have strained equipment and personnel, costing Washington billions of dollars monthly.
By Bianca Herrera ·
The US Navy is experiencing significant wear on fighter jets and crew members as it conducts nightly missions over the Strait of Hormuz. A Wall Street Journal report released on Thursday details the physical toll of these operations, which are designed to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports and shield commercial ships from projectiles.
Service members on the USS George Washington, which has been deployed to the region since August, described the challenging environment. They noted that the airspace above the waterway is only about 20 miles wide yet filled with aerial objects. This density gives pilots a very small window to react to threats launched from the Iranian coast.
Rear Adm. Jeffrey Heames, who commands the strike group, stated that US forces have been reliably intercepting threats to commercial shipping. He explained that aircraft move in quickly to shoot down anti-ship cruise missiles or drones in a short amount of time. US Central Command reported that this protection has allowed Gulf partners to export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since the summer.
CENTCOM added that over 3,000 commercial vessels have transited the strait without incident in the last six months. Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, confirmed in a video statement on Friday that Iran has not exported any oil since the blockade was imposed.
The high frequency of flight operations is straining maintenance teams. Ensign Addie Schaefer, an officer in the carrier's maintenance department, said that more flight hours lead to more damage and wear, requiring frequent repairs. Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, said the Navy is addressing these issues by establishing a maintenance hub on Diego Garcia, an island base in the Indian Ocean.
Caudle also noted that the Navy is planning additional port calls to manage personnel fatigue, following the record-breaking 286-day deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Military leaders assert that forces can maintain the blockade for as long as needed, though some officials worry that the resource-intensive operations may limit responses to future crises elsewhere.
The US currently has 50,000 troops and 20 ships deployed in the Middle East. The cost of maintaining this presence, including munitions, fuel, and supplies, ranges from $2 billion to $3 billion per month.
