Earlier today, Iranian forces launched an attack on several targets across the Middle East, releasing videos showing the launch of cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles from mobile truck launchers. This appears to have been a response to a U.S. operation carried out this morning, which escorted two merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz and out of the Persian Gulf.
During the U.S. mission, dubbed “Project Freedom,” several U.S. AH-64 Apache and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters sank six Iranian boats that the U.S. claimed were threatening commercial shipping. During the operation, it was also reported that Iran had launched new attacks aimed at American warships as well as merchant vessels.
During a press conference, Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), spoke with the press. Below are some key points.
“We have an enormous amount of capability and firepower concentrated in and around the strait, including AH-64 Apache and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters used just this morning to eliminate six Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping. So we’re backing up commitment with action,” he continued. “We also have A-10s, F-15s, F-16s, F/A-18s, F-35s, EA-18 Growlers, RC-135s, KC-46s, and KC-135 fixed-wing aircraft, and numerous U.S. warships, including destroyers, two carrier strike groups, an amphibious readiness group, and a Marine Expeditionary Unit.”
Remarks to media today from Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, on Project Freedom: pic.twitter.com/kIFFLf2vpd
“The cruise missiles were going after both U.S. Navy ships, but mostly after commercial shipping,” Cooper added when asked about attacks so far. “We defended both ourselves and, consistent with our commitment, we defended all those commercial ships.”
Guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) observes a merchant vessel while on patrol enforcing the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of today, 50 commercial vessels have been redirected by U.S. forces to ensure compliance. pic.twitter.com/wm7onmQCke
“The President has also said that if the process [Project Freedom] is interfered with, we will react forcefully. And over the last 12 hours, Iran has interfered. The IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] has launched multiple cruise missiles, drones, and small boats at ships we are protecting. We have defeated each and every one of those threats through the clinical application of defensive munitions.”
“I can confirm there’s been no U.S. military ship hit, and there’s been no U.S.-flagged ship that has been hit.”
The UAE Minister of Defence said on social media that UAE air defense systems “engaged 12 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles, and 4 UAVs launched from Iran, resulting in 3 moderate injuries.” The minister was referring to three Indian nationals moderately injured in a drone strike on the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. The attack appears to have hit the connecting pipes that lead to a terminal used to load oil onto tankers.
After a brief opening yesterday, Iran has reimposed restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This has once again caused chaos, as ships attempting to make the trip have been forced to turn around—this time under direct threat of fire. Yesterday, a number of vessels attempted to make the trip before abruptly turning back toward the Gulf. This happened again this morning, with at least two ships reporting to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) that they had been fired upon by small IRGC gunboats. The vessel, whose name has not been released yet, reported to UKMTO that it was 20 nautical miles (nm) off the coast of Oman when the incident took place. The tanker and crew are reported safe at this time. The captain reported receiving no radio contact from the gunboats. Iran has made no official statement of the incident at this time.
Yesterday an announcement was made to ships attempting to make the voyage through the strait. It was recorded on the bridge of one of the vessels; this is the bridge of the Bhagya Laxmi but multiple vessels reported hearing the message or one similar.
Radio conversation between Cargo Ship "Bhagya Laxmi" & the Iranian Navy.
Iran claims the United States has made repeated “breaches of trust,” with some officials going so far as to accuse the U.S. of “acts of piracy.” The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters—the top operational command-and-control hub for the Armed Forces of Iran—released a televised statement specifically citing “repeated breaches of trust” as the reason for reimposing “strict management and control” over the Strait. They accused the U.S. of continuing a naval blockade of Iranian ports despite previous good-faith agreements. From their perspective, the U.S. should have ceased the ongoing blockade. Whether that was part of an agreement the U.S. made with Iran during the ceasefire put in place last week, we do not know. The current blockade was never mentioned specifically in any reporting I have seen on the terms of the April 7–8 ceasefire. No formal announcement was made on what exactly was agreed upon in the ceasefire. For now, we only know the terms that have been announced publicly by both sides.
“For this reason [U.S. continued naval blockade], control of the Strait of Hormuz has reverted to its previous state, and this strategic waterway is under the strict management and control of the armed forces.”
“Until the United States restores the complete freedom of navigation for vessels from an Iranian origin to a destination, and from a destination back to Iran, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will remain strictly controlled and in its previous state.”
-Statement on Iranian State Media from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters
U.S. and Iran Ceasefire: What We Know
The April 7–8 ceasefire stopped the wave of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and was supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for tankers and other maritime traffic. The specifics of the agreement are not publicly known, but we can review what both sides have stated publicly or through official announcements.
The main point is that the ceasefire imposed a two-week halt to the fighting. While those two weeks are quickly coming to an end, both sides appear interested in negotiations and, at a minimum, an extension of the ceasefire.
The U.S. and Israel would stop all offensive operations against Iran.
Iran would cease its “defensive operations” and retaliatory strikes, provided U.S. and Israeli attacks stop.
The Strait of Hormuz was a major U.S. condition in the agreement:
Iran agreed to the “complete, immediate, and safe opening” of the strait for commercial shipping during the ceasefire period.
Passage is coordinated by Iran’s Armed Forces, with “due consideration of technical limitations.”
Iran (and Oman) may charge transit fees to fund reconstruction.
The U.S. has said it will help manage traffic buildup. Iran has since declared the strait fully open for the remainder of the ceasefire.
The status regarding the safety of the path through the Strait of Hormuz is now in question after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) Navy announced that the main shipping channel has been mined. The IRGC released a map showing the alternative paths ships must take through the strait.
Map released by Iran showing the safe path through the strait.
As the map shows, ships coming through the Strait must pass to the North of Larak Island, traveling south of Qeshm Island.
Iran started placing mines in March of 2026, however some reports say that U.S. intelligence tracked Iranian mining preparation earlier than that. The numbers differ depending on who your asking, but officials in the U.S. believe that Iran only managed to place somewhere in between “less than 10” and “not more than a few dozen”. The mines are only one part of the issue as Iran retains the ability to strike at ships by other means, such as drones or with whatever limited number of anti-ship missile launchers they have left.
Diagram from Covert Shores showing the different types of Iranian sea mines.
The Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important waterways. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. What makes the strait so important is the volume of traffic that moves through it. As of 2026, approximately 21 million barrels of oil pass through the strait each day.
Iran sees the strait as the perfect chokepoint, which it (among others) has used in the past as a geopolitical chess piece. The lack of alternative routes for tankers to enter or exit the Persian Gulf means any disruption in traffic flow creates a huge problem for countries that rely on Middle Eastern oil. The strait only being 21 miles wide at its narrowest makes it easy for Iran to cover the strait with even shorter range weapons. At that distance drones could reach a ship in minutes, and faster munitions would strike their target in seconds.
Even with the ceasefire in place, traffic through the strait has remained at a standstill. Most shipping companies have chosen not to risk the journey. Insurance costs have more than doubled from their pre-war levels, placing further strain on the shipping industry. As of this writing on April 10, only seven ships have made the transit in the past 24 hours.
Iran’s Demands on Vessels Transiting the Strait
Iran has imposed several specific conditions that ships must meet to be allowed through the strait. These requirements, enforced primarily by the IRGC Navy, include mandatory prior coordination and explicit permission from Iranian military authorities. Vessels must submit detailed documentation—such as crew lists, cargo manifests, ownership details, and voyage plans—for vetting to confirm they have no ties to “hostile” nations (primarily the United States or Israel). Ships are also required to follow a new northerly route closer to the Iranian coast, passing either side of Larak Island while avoiding the central “Area of Danger” marked on IRGC maps due to alleged mines. In addition, many tankers—especially oil and gas carriers—are required to pay tolls, often described as safe-passage fees, that can reach up to $2 million per vessel or roughly $1 per barrel of oil. Iran has stated that only vessels from “non-hostile” or friendly nations receive priority, and some ships may face inspections. These conditions remain in force even though the strait is nominally open under the ceasefire.
At this time, the strait is considered “open” as a condition of the ceasefire with the U.S.; however, Iran has imposed the conditions described above, which the U.S. appears to have accepted for now. This acceptance is potentially problematic because it lends credibility to Iran’s assertion that it controls the strait. It does not. Passage through straits like Hormuz is governed by UNCLOS—the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—specifically Articles 37–44. These provisions classify the Strait of Hormuz as a strait used for international navigation and prohibit coastal states from controlling access, imposing tolls (or safe-passage fees), or discriminating against vessels based on flag, owner, or destination. The rules governing the Strait of Hormuz and similar international straits are considered customary international law, meaning even states that have not ratified UNCLOS are expected to abide by them. Iran’s attempts to assert control therefore violate international law.
In the past, the U.S. and other powers have regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” operations through the strait to uphold these UNCLOS provisions and push back against Iran’s claims.
The situation remains fluid as ceasefire negotiations continue.
Following the downing of a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle the U.S. carried out a rescue operation behind Iranian lines. The operation took place over the course of two days and involved a large number of aircraft.
At this point before we go any further I’d like to say that this account of events is what I believe to have happened going off of images and videos and public statements from officials (both named and unnamed) ,to the best of my ability. It’s very likely some information was intentionally released to mislead or deceive.There are reports of the CIA being involved in the effort to persuade the Iranians that the weapons systems officer was located somewhere else than where rescue efforts were focused. For some reason after the mission was complete the CIA disclosed this information to media outlets via their public relations office. President Trump and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also offered up details of this operation and all of its complexities after its conclusion however this is the governments account of the events, a fact which should be taken into account when going through the information.
Image shows an overview of the area for the whole operation. The helicopter symbol shows the earliest sighting of US forces. The majority of the sightings were geolocated between there and the FOB- forward operating base, set up closer to where the crash site was geolocated.
On April 3rd, 2026 it was reported that a US F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron out of RAF Lakenheath had been lost somewhere over the western region of Iran. This was the first time a U.S. fighter has been lost from enemy combat since the start of the war. By the time the incident was reported, videos were being posted by locals from the area showing what appears to be CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) units attempting to locate the two crewmen- call signs DUDE44 Bravo and DUDE44 Alpha, from the downed F-15E.
Iranian channels publish footage of U.S. Air Force HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue (SAR) aircraft conducting an operation in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southern Iran this afternoon.
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) April 3, 2026
The first crewmember was rescued the day of the shootdown. At the time I personally was informed of the shootdown (About 15 minutes before the stories dropped on mainstream) I was already seeing videos of US aircraft flying low over western Iran. It was pretty clear based on the assets we were seeing that a Combat Search and Rescue operation was underway. A HC-130 Combat King II (CSAR C-130 variant), flanked by 2 HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. These aircraft are specifically designed to go behind enemy lines and rescue downed pilots. All three can fly very low over a search area to locate downed pilots. The Combat King operates as a sort of mobile command post and surveillance platform. It’s able to refuel the helicopters and carries refueling pods on underwing pylons and additional internal fuel tanks in the cargo bay. The plane has also been modified and given the ability to receive fuel from boom equipped tankers.
A U.S. Air Force HC-130J “Combat King II” Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Aircraft seen flying extremely low over the countryside of Southern Iran, as the search continues for the crew of a downed American F-15E Strike Eagle. pic.twitter.com/vQL7umqmYy
The first day’s operation was, by all accounts, a success as the pilot of the Strike Eagle was rescued by one of the Pave Hawk helicopters and extracted. As the CSAR units entered Iran a number of fighters, including an A-10 and drones were “violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight to keep them away from the front seater” according to General Caine. On the way out of Iran the rescue helicopters took a significant amount of ground fire and several people were injured as well as the helicopters being damaged, however they managed to get the pilot back to safety. By this time, it appears that they knew where the Weapon Systems Officer was, however they didn’t want to risk losing a helicopter and its crew to ground fire, especially when they had been stirring up the hornets nest for several hours already. The mission had been supported by a number of other aerial units, reportedly several F-35’ and the A-10 that was mentioned above. That A-10, which was reportedly the main point of contact with DUDE44 Alpha “was hit by enemy fire,” said Caine. “This pilot continued to fight, continued the mission, and then upon exit, flew his aircraft into another country and determined that the airplane was not land-able. The pilot then made the decision to eject over friendly territory, and was quickly and safely recovered and is doing fine.” The A-10 incident likely caused alot of the confusion that occurred on that first day as people read stories about two pilots being recovered they mistakenly thought that they were referring to both Strike Eagle crewmen.
As they were extracting the pilot, under reported heavy ground fire several people were injured and the helicopters were damaged. However the pilot was flown to safety and everybody made it back. A low-level rescue mission across Iran seems pretty crazy but the operation shifted into an even bolder phase on Day 2.
On Day 2 it was revealed that two C-130 (MC-130 variants?) had landed at a small agriculture landing strip roughly 33 miles south of Isfahan- a major Iranian city that, with its missile production complexes, airbases, and uranium conversion facilitate is an important hub for the Iranian military and the IRGC.
Images showing the planes at the airstrip that was used as a FOB (Forward Operating Base) for the rescue.
Images were released showing that U.S. forces had taken over the above mentioned airstrip and had set up a forward operating base of sorts. After the operation concluded President Trump revealed that “hundreds” of people had taken part in the operation. This leads us to believe that the force they landed at that airport was significant.
The Weapon systems officer was reportedly hiding at the top of a mountain that he had climbed after ejecting from his airplane and being separated from the pilot. Almost 50 hours after the plane was shot down the operation to rescue the wounded WSO began on Easter Sunday.
“He scaled cliff faces bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds and contacted American forces to transmit his location,”
President Donald Trump speaking about the WSO.
According to President Trump once the WSO was located a massive force was mobilized to retrieve him from his hiding spot. The force involved 155 aircraft, including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft and more. The four bombers, likely B-1 Lancers or B-52’s cratered a number of roads leading to the mountain where the WSO was hiding, dropping at least 100 2000lb bombs according to the Wall Street Journal article linked below.
Some of those roads can be seen on satellite images released in the days since.
Images shows some of the blast left by 2000lb bombs dropped by the U.S. during the rescue operation.
Not all of the assets listed above were involved in the main effort to rescue the stranded WSO, in fact according to the White House many of the airplanes were used in diversion tactics, running strikes to cause confusion and keep the Irans running around. At this point several thousand Iranians were running around trying to capture the American. The longer this mission went on the more dangerous it was for everybody involved.
While all of these was happening a refueling and rearming point had been established at the farm airstrip and two MC-130J special operations cargo planes that included several little bird helicopters and other equipment and soldiers.
After the wounded WSO was recovered he was pulled back to this farm landing strip. Trump said that with the MC-130s were stuck in the wet, sandy soil, “we blew them up to smithereens.” The helicopters brought in by plane were also blown up in place as well, because the aircraft that replaced the Commando IIs weren’t capable of exfilling them and leaving them intact ment leaving them in the hands of the enemy. To replace the stuck cargo special forces cargo planes they brought in “lighter, faster aircraft…” said Trump” came in and brought them out.”
Several images mashed together shows the site where the MC-130’s were destroyed by U.S. forces. You can see which way they were facing from what is left. The landing site after the destruction of the MC-130’s and helicopters.
Estimated location of 2 hc/mc 130 and 2 little birds south of Isfahan. Est C: 32.258394, 51.901927 Satellite imagery from Landsat confirms that an old runway was used as a forward operating location for last night's rescue mission. A burn mark from the deliberately destroyed… pic.twitter.com/ZJbAmhZ5Ky
— Major Sammer Pal Toorr (Infantry Combat Veteran) (@samartoor3086) April 5, 2026
This post shows some video taken after the operation. The videos show the landing field where the U.S. set up its base for the operation.
It’s almost certain the airplane he is talking about is the CASA C-295W Perssauder, a short take off and landing twin turboprop plane that are modified with special forces operations in mind.
Spotted flying at low level over western Iran this morning; a C-295W from the USAF’s 427th Special Operations Squadron, a clandestine unit that reportedly specializes in infiltration and exfiltration into enemy territory. pic.twitter.com/4UfAFj7AQb
Video of the backup exfill plane heading to pick up the U.S. personnel who’s plane got stuck in the sand.
At least one of these was filmed by locals coming into the region at the end of Sunday. As @OSINTTechnical mentions these are from the 427th Special Operations Squadron and specifically handle infiltration and exfiltration from hostile territory.
A better look at the C-295W Perssauder.
This is the plane that ultimately brought the WSO out of enemy territory after his multi-day ordeal, climbing a mountain and being shot down and injured behind enemy lines.
We know that Israeli forces also aided in reconnaissance and intelligence information regarding the location and status of the WSO during his time hiding from Iranian forces.
During the time of the rescue Fox News and several other outlets reported a strike being ordered using B-2 Spirit stealth bombers loaded with Massive Ordnance Penetrators to strike an IRGC underground headquarters outside of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
You can be sure there is much about this strike that will remain unknown until somebody writes a book about it. Until then this is everything GCR has managed to gather since the two crew were first reported down inside of Iranian borders.
Sources
(There was some great reporting done on this whole thing, I’d like to list a couple here as well as some extra videos and post)
❗️The United States has launched a large-scale search and evacuation operation for the pilots of an F-15 fighter jet shot down this morning in western Iran.
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The U.S. confirms a Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) has been shot over the Persian Gulf. This aircraft was believed to have been a part of today’s C-SAR mission to recover the downed F-15E pilots in Iran or operating independently running operations near the strait. An A-10 was seen earlier near the area where the F-15E Strike Eagle was downed.
The U.S. has confirmed the aircraft was downed/shot but have yet to say what weapon hit the aircraft. The pilot has already been recovered and is alive (some reports say he is receiving medical attention).The pilot managed to limp the aircraft to Kuwaiti airspace and ejected there, with the plane going down in Kuwait.
This video was released by Iran as evidence of a shoot down however this aircraft looks more like an MQ-9 drone instead of an A-10.
The A-10 is a ground-attack jet, known for its 30mm GAU-8 cannon and ability to operate at low altitude in contested environments. It is thought of by the soldiers whose lives it’s saved as the “King of CAS” however it is also useful in this conflict for interdicting Iranian fast attack boats and minelayers, and also being used to hit Iranian backed militia targets in Iraq. It is heavily armored and can carry a variety of munitions. The A-10 is also likely nearing the end of its service as some in the Air Force leadership continue to push for its retirement. While other platforms can do CAS work, like the F-16 and F-35, neither is a designated CAS platform and as such does the job with less success.
The videos have all been geolocated by GCR to an area of western/southwestern Iran. The search area appears very large — two of the videos when geolocated show areas at least 150 miles apart. One is a bridge going over the Karun River in Khuzestan province, the other video shows an A-10 thought to be providing air cover for C-SAR assets located 150 miles south near Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.
A U.S. Air Force fighter has been shot down over Iran according to two U.S. officials who spoke with the Washington Post. The fighter, an F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron (“Panthers,” 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, UK), carries a crew of two ,pilot and a weapons systems officer, both of whom are still missing after go ejecting from the aircraft.
Currently a search and rescue mission is underway for the crew. Video verified by GCR shows HC-130J Combat King II aircraft flying low over parts of Iran. This tanker is also shown refueling at least two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, which specialize in C-SAR (Combat search and rescue) operations. Other videos from the same region show additional U.S. aircraft flying low over the area where the plane was thought to have been downed. In another video the search and rescue assets take small arms fire from the Iranian military/IRGC. Also shown in these videos is an HC-130 Combat King II which acts as a mobile surveillance platform and specializes in C-SAR missions.
Iranian channels publish footage of U.S. Air Force HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue (SAR) aircraft conducting an operation in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southern Iran this afternoon.
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) April 3, 2026
NOW: F-35 jets and MQ-9 drones were also spotted supporting U.S. helicopters over Iran, searching for the pilots of downed F-15E jet. pic.twitter.com/1cpNQ7pJq0
Some of the early GCR geolocation work showing the general search area.
This news is less shocking than it could be, as this morning images appeared on Iranian state media that appeared to show the wreckage from a U.S. fighter. Iranian outlets (including Tasnim and IRIB) initially claimed the downed jet was an F-35 stealth fighter, but quickly aligned their reporting with the visible wreckage, which clearly matches an F-15E Strike Eagle. The debris shows burned and fragmented sections of the vertical tail, wings, and fuselage, with distinctive markings including the “LN” tail code, red/yellow band, “EUROPE” script, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe badge, consistent with the 494th FS aircraft.
Iranian state television has gone further, urging civilians in the area to search for the missing American crew and offering rewards for their capture. The IRGC is treating the incident as a major propaganda victory.
This is a rapidly developing story as part of the ongoing U.S./Israeli Operation Epic Fury. U.S. officials have confirmed the loss to select media, but CENTCOM has not yet issued a full public statement. GCR will continue monitoring and geolocating new videos as they emerge.
Update 5:38 EST
One pilot has been found and has been recovered. During the course of the search and rescue operation the rescue aircraft came under small arms fire. The helicopters were hit and but made it back to base. One A-10 was hit but made it back to friendly territory before ejecting according to CBS and The New York Times. Iran released a video showing a surface to air missile of some kind striking the A-10.
March 13th it was announced that a Marine Expeditionary Unit and its supporting warships would be deploying to the Middle East region at the request of the U.S. Central Command, to help with the current operation in Iran.
This move was originally reported by the Wall Street journal and is seen as a response to the ongoing attempted closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a thin stretch of ocean that Iran has threatened to close for years, cutting off much of the oil coming from the region. The closure has had a direct effect on oil prices and the price at the pump in America and beyond.
The Wall Street journal reported that the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has approved a request from CENTCOM for an element of an Amphibious Ready Group as well as the attached Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to three US officials who spoke with the WSJ. The amphibious ready group or ARG is usually made up of an assault ship, two (SAN ANTONIO-Class) transport docks, and a support vessel that carries an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of at least 2,200 Marines. In this case the sources who spoke to the WSJ said the USS Tripoli(LHA-7) is being sent from its usual base in Japan along with the USS San Diego (LPD-22) and USS New Orleans (LPD-18). These ships make up the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU).
If needed, other MEU’s are also available for operations in the Middle East.
The Marine Expeditionary Unit was developed as a highly versatile, somewhat self-contained fighting force that can be called upon to quickly respond to situations. They were put together and usually kept in areas where the U.S. expects to need marines quickly, such as the pacific or often in the Middle East.
As stated by the Marines website the four elements of the MEU are as follows.
Command Element – Serves as the headquarters for the entire unit and allows a single command to exercise control over all ground, aviation, and combat service support forces.
Ground Combat Element – Provides the MEU with its main combat punch. Built around a Marine infantry battalion, the GCE is reinforced with tanks, artillery, amphibious vehicles, engineers, and reconnaissance assets.
Aviation Combat Element – The ACE consists of a composite medium helicopter squadron containing transport helicopters of various models and capabilities, attack helicopters and jets, air defense teams, and all necessary ground support assets.
Logistics Combat Element – Providing the MEU with mission-essential support such as medical/dental assistance, motor transport, supply, equipment maintenance, and landing is the mission of the LCE.
The marine website also list some of the missions that the MEU trains for.
– Peacekeeping/Enforcement
-Humanitarian/Disaster Relief
– Security Operations
– Noncombatant Evacuation Operations
– Reinforcement Operations
– Amphibious Raids/Assaults/Demonstrations
– Tactical Deception Operations
– Airfield/Port Seizures
– Show-of-Force Operations
– Reconnaissance and Surveillance
– Seizure/Recovery of Offshore Energy Facilities
Having the MEU available in the region does not necessarily mean that they will be used for ground combat roles. Iran still has a large fighting force made up of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp as well as the regular army meaning any ground operation will likely involve considerably more troops than come with the MEU. However the MEU provides a wide range of options for commanders to use towards completing their goals.
Let’s look at some of what the MEU brings to the fight.
The USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is the second of the America-class amphibious assault ships, which is itself an upgrade on the Wasp-Class amphibious assault ship. This class removed the well deck usually used for landing ships, giving the Tripoli, and the America much more hanger space as well as extra aviation repair and armament storage.
USS Tripoli with its F-35B’s on deck.
The ship is protected by RIM-116 Rolling airframe missiles for protection primarily against anti-ship missiles.
USS San Diego and USS New Orleans are both San Antonio-Class Amphibious Transport Docks. These ships mostly focus on carrying Marines and using their large CH-53 Sea Knight and MV-22 Osprey’s and landing ships to put a good sized marine fighting force anywhere nearby in a short amount of time, useful for seizing a landing zone for example.
USS San Diego
The ability of the 31st MEU to to strike targets using the F-35B’s as well as AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters it’s important in supporting the marine fighters and would be especially useful for hunting down the slow flying Shahed drones as well as the smaller craft used by the Iranian navy.
F-35B in its vertical lift mode.
The 31st MEU should arrive in the Middle East in about two weeks.the Tripoli was spotted on satellite imagery heading south from its Okinawa home port.
Shows the USS Tripoli heading south west as it makes its journey to the Middle East.
The other Marine expeditionary units could be called to the region if needed.
An older image but minus the AV-88B’s represents what a lot of the MEU’s are working with as far as equipment and numbers. The plan is to switch out the AV-88B’s for F-35B’s.
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