🔶 America's night operation in the Strait of Hormuz; Click on aircraft and military personnel.
The US military conducts air missions around the clock to enforce the naval blockade on Iranian ports and protect commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Wall Street Journal reported the increased pressure on American planes, warships, flight crews and technical forces following the continuation of the activity.
According to this report, fighter jets stationed on the aircraft carrier "George Washington" fly from the ship's deck at night to intercept cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran at commercial ships; this operation is part of the broader mission of the American forces to maintain the security of shipping in the waterway, which is one of the most important routes for the transfer of oil and goods in the world. According to American officials, the continuation of the flights with such frequency put significant pressure on the planes and the crews, and the technical forces and repairmen who are responsible for keeping the fighter planes ready for frequent flights also faced an increase in the load.
This is in a situation where the United States pursues a naval blockade on Iranian ports on the one hand and tries to keep commercial ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz on the other hand.
The aircraft carrier George Washington, which has been stationed in the area since August, operates in the Persian Gulf and its fighter jets fly to counter aerial threats to commercial shipping.
In these missions, American warplanes move towards the Strait of Hormuz with air-to-air missiles.
According to the US military, aircraft should monitor air movements in narrow, high-traffic areas and be ready to intercept if a threat is detected. One of the difficulties of the operation over the Strait of Hormuz is the limited airspace of this waterway; According to the US military, the airspace above the strait is about 20 miles wide and there are many flying objects.
In such a situation, fighter pilots have a limited opportunity to detect and respond to missiles that may be fired from the coast of Iran. Anti-ship cruise missiles and drones are among the threats US forces are carrying out to deal with in the mission area.
In this operation, fighter jets are the only piece of air equipment used by the United States.
Electronic warfare aircraft, radar flight systems and anti-submarine helicopters are also involved in support and surveillance missions.