Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.
Israeli media: 32% of Americans still support "Israel's" war on Hamas, while 60% oppose it.
Israeli media: Core US support for "Israel" hits its lowest, while support for Palestine reaches its highest levels.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports martyrs, injuries in Israeli bombardment of home in Heker al-Jame area in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: A new chapter in relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin within the framework of the new law passed by Parliament

Yemeni operations further expose US Navy fleet failures in Red Sea: RS

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Responsible Statecraft
  • 13 May 2024 20:57
  • 4 Shares
5 Min Read

Dan Grazier believes most of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group carrier’s escort vessels have also had their deployments extended due to the US Navy's failure to reach its objectives.

  • x
  • US Navy paying price for shipbuilding failures in Red Sea: RS
    The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier after entering the Gulf waters crossing through the Hormuz Strait in a photo released on November 26, 2023 (US CENTCOM)

In late April, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, serving as the flagship of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, along with the USS Gravely, left the Red Sea and entered the Eastern Mediterranean. 

According to Dan Grazier, most of the carrier’s escort vessels have also had their deployments extended due to the US Navy's failure to reach its objectives.

Grazier wrote in Responsible Statecraft that one of the reasons was a lack of enough ships. He noted that the Red Sea threat is precisely the situation for which the Navy spent so much effort and money developing the Littoral Combat Ship, which was touted to the American public as a "networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals."

The Yemeni Armed Forces' attacks in the Red Sea, he stated, is the "textbook definition" of an "asymmetric threat in a littoral region."

However, the "little crappy ships," as they have come to be called, are nowhere to be seen within the Red Sea. Rather, the Navy must retain a carrier strike group made up of Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers on station for longer than expected in order to keep a key maritime choke point open.

Grazier explained that both the Littoral Combat Ship and the Zumwalt-class destroyer have been shipbuilding disasters during the last 20 years, which began following 9/11 as they quickly encountered problems. 

The Zumwalt program had tremendous cost inflation, forcing Navy authorities to reduce the intended fleet size from 32 to 7, and then to the three that were ultimately completed. These three ships cost over $8 billion each and failed to achieve the claimed combat capability.

The Littoral Combat Ship program required $28 billion to develop a fleet of 35 ships, and, according to the Government Accountability Office, more than $60 billion will be needed to run the fleet throughout its estimated 25-year lifetime.

Like the Zumwalt, the LCS program's combat capability falls far short of expectations. The ships were planned to be modular, with sailors switching mission systems in port to suit varied missions. Engineers were unable to get the mission components to operate effectively, therefore the concept was abandoned.

Related News

Iraq’s PMF law seen as test of sovereignty amid US objections

Notorious Palantir lands record $10bln contract with the US Army

Grazier explained how the USS Milwaukee broke down and other ships suffered from "saltwater corrosion, cracked hulls, and broken-down water jets," citing how Navy leaders began to retire ships decades earlier than they should have.

Navy chiefs are now hurrying to create the Constellation-class frigate to cover the capability vacuum left by the Littoral Combat Ship, he further explained. 

Grazier concluded by warning that service commanders, civilian leaders, and members of Congress should remember this case the next time a military contractor shows them a bunch of attractive conceptual drawings and then claims transformational capabilities at rock-bottom pricing. The homesick sailors aboard the Ike now realize that if it sounds too good to be true, it most certainly is.

USS Dwight D Eisenhower leaves Red Sea after failing to stop Yemenis

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely successfully transited the Suez Canal, after nearly four months stationed in the Red Sea, the Navy announced late last month.

During its stay in the Red Sea, the US battle group failed to halt Yemeni operations against maritime navigation linked to the Israeli regime as operations continued.

According to a news release from US Naval Forces Europe-Africa, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, serving as the flagship of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, along with the USS Gravely, have now entered the Eastern Mediterranean. Their exact duration in the region remains undisclosed.

The deployment of the Ike Carrier Strike Group on October 13, followed by its navigation toward the Red Sea, was primarily focused on participating in Operation Prosperity Guardian. 

However, the news release notably omitted the current locations of the USS Mason and USS Philippine Sea, the other components of the Ike CSG. USS Mason, akin to USS Gravely, has been actively engaged in defending the Israeli occupation.

The Yemeni Ansar Allah movement is working on reinforcing the country's reach toward the Indian Ocean, seeking to cut off the Israeli-affiliated ships from sailing on the Cape of Good Hope route or toward the Red Sea, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi revealed last month.

The Yemeni front will remain open and the YAF operations in support of Palestine will continue, Sayyed al-Houthi stressed during a speech in which he addressed the latest regional developments. 

The leader of the Ansar Allah movement emphasized that the expansion of the YAF's operations into the Indian Ocean was never taken into account by American, British, and Israeli authorities, or what Sayyed al-Houthi refers to as the "Triad of Evil." 

  • US
  • Red Sea
  • Yemeni Armed Forces
  • Yemen
  • United States
  • Israel
  • war on Gaza
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
An explosion seen during an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv, Occupied Palestine, June 13, 2025 (AP)

If Iran is attacked again, geography of response may change: IRGC spox

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS