US lacks capacity to restore seapower: US Transport Secretary

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Nov 2023 04:07
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The US lacks shipbuilding capacity and a sufficient number of US-flagged ships, according to the US Transportation Secretary. This has prompted a potential examination of funding for the US Department of Defense.

An F18 Super Hornet prepares to land on the deck of the USS Eisenhower off the coast of Virginia, on December 10, 2015, in the Atlantic Ocean. (AP)

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced, on Tuesday, that the US lacked the shipbuilding and US-flagged ship capacity that it hoped to accumulate to restore its seapower.

During an event at the Council on Foreign Relations, Buttigieg revealed that "the facts are that we do not have the shipbuilding capacity or the US flag capacity that we want or that we ought to have," given the clear correlation between US shipbuilding capacity and the restoration of US seapower.

It was even noted that despite the historically large budget allocated to the US Department of Transportation, the department has failed to manage the efforts to achieve the desired capacity thus prompting the US to potentially look to the US Department of Defense to support the shipbuilding endeavor, according to Buttigieg.

The significance of these statements by the Transportation Secretary becomes clear after the Fox News Pentagon producer Liz Friden reported that "An Iranian drone flew near the USS Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf today," citing a US official, adding that "the Ike was in international waters & the Iranian drone ignored multiple warnings."

According to Friden, the incident "is being deemed unsafe & unprofessional."

NEW: An Iranian drone flew near the USS Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf today, a U.S. official told Fox News. The Ike was in international waters & the Iranian drone ignored multiple warnings. This is being deemed unsafe & unprofessional.
— Liz Friden (@Liz_Friden) November 28, 2023

IRGC intercepts US warship in Gulf waters, forces it to change course

A US aircraft carrier that entered Gulf waters was forced to change its course and land its helicopters after receiving a direct warning from Iranian naval forces, the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy in Iran General Alireza Tangsiri said on Monday.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Monday that the US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower passed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf waters.

CENTCOM added that the strike group would carry out patrols to "ensure freedom of navigation" along key international waterways, as well as support "CENTCOM requirements throughout the region."

Brigadier General Alireza Tangsiri revealed that the navy dispatched drones to the American warship when it encountered the military vessels of the IRGC, forcing the US vessel to head toward the south of the Gulf "in compliance with our instructions" after forcing it to land its helicopters.

He emphasized that the United States is well aware that the Iranian forces closely monitor the movements of its forces in the Gulf and have control over the region. Tangsiri asserted that the IRGC Navy could easily target the US aircraft carrier using missiles and drones.

Iran releases footage of drones monitoring US vessels entering Gulf

The Iranian army unveiled on Tuesday footage depicting the surveillance and monitoring of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and its accompanying vessels using drones as they were transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

The event happened on November 26, 2023, as indicated in the footage divulged by Tasnim News Agency.

The #Iranian army published footage of its drones surveilling #US vessels entering the #Gulf. https://t.co/vplqhWUyUQ
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 28, 2023