M.K. Bhadrakumar analyzes developments in the past few days, including the U.S. announcement that it is deploying a huge nuclear submarine near the war zone.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group and USS USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike groups in the Eastern Mediterranean amid the 2023 American–Middle East conflict, Nov. 3. (U.S. Navy, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
By M.K. Bhadrakumar
Indian Punchline
The announcement late Sunday night by the U.S. Central Command, headquartered, in Doha about the arrival of an Ohio-class U.S. nuclear submarine in its “area of responsibility” presages a significant escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict.
It is very rare that the use of these submarines is publicized. CENTCOM provided no additional details but it posted an image that apparently showed an Ohio-class submarine in Egypt’s Suez Canal Bridge. Interestingly, CENTCOM also separately shared an image of a nuclear-capable B-1 bomber operating in the Middle East.
On November 5, 2023, an Ohio-class submarine arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/iDgUFp4enp
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 5, 2023
On November 5, 2023, a U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancer begins aerial refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 912th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron while conducting a Bomber Task Force mission over the U.S.