---
title: "US military sending more planes and ships to Middle East"
description: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered that a fighter squadron, destroyers, and an aircraft carrier strike group deploy to the Middle East. The extra forces will protect American troops and help to defend Israel, which is bracing for an attack."
date: "2024-08-02"
modified: "2024-08-02"
authors:
  - name: "Jeff Schogol"
    job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/pentagon-middle-east-deployments/"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "adsafety"
  - "hamas"
  - "iran"
  - "killed"
  - "Terrorism"
  - "war"
---

# US military sending more planes and ships to Middle East

![USS Abraham Lincoln](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30/Abraham-Lincoln.jpeg>)
*FILE: The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2010. (Capt. Lee Apsley/U.S. Navy)*

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered that an additional fighter squadron deploy to the Middle East as part of a series of moves meant to protect American forces in the region and defend Israel, [Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced on Friday.](<https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3860557/deputy-pentagon-press-secretary-sabrina-singh-statement-on-force-posture-in-the/>)

The deployments come as Israel is bracing for retaliation after an Israeli airstrike [killed a senior Hezbollah leader](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-veterans-hezbollah-leader/>) in Beirut on Tuesday followed by the assassination of Hamas’ political leader on Wednesday, for which Israel has not claimed responsibility.

Austin has also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility along with additional ballistic missile-defense capable destroyers to the Middle East and U.S. European Command regions, Singh said.

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The Defense Department also plans to move more land-based ballistic missile defenses, said Singh, who did not specify which units may be sent to the Middle East.

“These posture adjustments add to the broad range of capabilities the U.S. military maintains in the region, including the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) operating in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Singh said.

***CORRECTION: 08/20/2024;** after this story was first published. the Pentagon clarified that no cruisers were being sent to the Middle East and U.S. European Command theater.*

## Author
Jeff Schogol is the senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reports on both the Defense Department as a whole as well as individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology.

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