While the Wasp has the capability to assist in the evacuation of civilians if full-scale war breaks out between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group along the Lebanon border, that’s not the primary reason it was rotated in, a US official says. “It’s about deterrence,” the official says.
A second US official says the rotation is similar to the US sending the USS Bataan assault ship into the waters around Israel shortly after Hamas’s October 7 attack, with the vessel remaining for months in the eastern Mediterranean to help provide options and try to contain the conflict. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details.
US officials said last week that the deployment of the Wasp was likely as the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and its air wing left the region. The Wasp carries F-35 fighter jets, which do short takeoffs and vertical landings, so they can do airstrike missions off smaller ships.
US European Command, which is responsible for ships operating in the Mediterranean, announced the move this week, saying the Wasp and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard would sail with the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, which is used to transport Marines, landing craft, vehicles and cargo. The Oak Hill is already in the Mediterranean.
The Wasp also is sailing with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which can deliver troops either by on-deck helicopters or landing vessels.
It all comes as Hezbollah and Israel have escalated their near-daily attacks on one another.