Second US carrier en route to Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to run hot

A second US aircraft carrier is set to join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East as tensions with Iran show no sign of abating.

The USS Gerald R Ford is reportedly en route to the Arabian Sea from the Caribbean, where it will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and its associated carrier strike group.

The last time the US had two of its 11 aircraft carriers in the region was in June last year, when US President Trump ordered strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

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An offensive and defensive arsenal

The arrival of the Ford further bolsters the US's capabilities in the region. She carries a nuclear reactor and can hold more than 75 military aircraft, including additional F/A-18 Super Hornet jets beyond those already on the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The strike group in the region also includes Growler and F-35 Lightning II aircraft capable of striking the Iranian navy and deep into Iran, and three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, each of which carries Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of more than 1,000 miles.

There are two more Arleigh Burke destroyers in the Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz.

The US has also reinforced bases in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Dozens of transport flights are believed to have brought in additional Patriot and Thaad air defence systems, which are capable of intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles.

Ability to strike from the north and the south

Meanwhile, US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles have flown from the UK to Jordan.

Jordan and Israel are geographically closer to Tehran in northern Iran than the Lincoln carrier group in the Arabian Sea.

The US is thought to have another Arleigh Burke destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean, plus an Ohio-class submarine capable of carrying over 150 cruise missiles.

The UK has also moved four RAF Typhoon fighters to Qatar.

A Royal Navy Astute-class submarine left Gibraltar in late January and could now be in the eastern Mediterranean.