US to send additional military assets to Middle East amid tension

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US will deploy additional military assets to the Middle East amid rising tension, the Pentagon said Friday.

“Secretary (Lloyd) Austin has ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies,” spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a statement.

Singh said to maintain a carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, currently deployed in the Central Command area of responsibility.

Additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the US European Command and US Central Command regions were also ordered, she said, adding: "The Department is also taking steps to increase our readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense."

The US will also send additional fighter squadron to the Middle East, reinforcing its defensive air support capability, Singh added.