Third US Navy aircraft carrier could soon add dozens of combat jets to Middle East force

Sailors handle line during a replenishment-at-sea with Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Arctic on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Indian Ocean, on April 19.Seaman Apprentice Lucas Krug/Digital/U.S. Navy

RIYADH, April 23 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) - The U.S. aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush was in the Indian Ocean as of Tuesday, according to photos posted on a U.S. Defense Department website.

Its presence could give the U.S. Navy dozens of additional combat aircraft in the region if a ceasefire ends or to help enforce a blockade of Iranian ports.

The exact position of the carrier and its more than 75 aircraft was not disclosed. U.S. Representative Maggie Goodlander said a third carrier was heading to the Middle East as Washington adds forces in the region.

The Bush strike group was sailing around the southern tip of Africa on April 17, according to the Atlantic Council’s U.S. military tracking website.

The carrier left Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31 on what the U.S. Navy described as a regularly scheduled deployment.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford were already in the broader Middle East region.