The United States maintains two out of the three naval strike groups --
with 15 ships and 100 combat aircraft -- in the Gulf. A French strike group,
led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, has been operating at the
edge of the Gulf.
"These two carriers have never operated together before," Whitman said.
"This is the first chance they've had to operate together."
Since November 2006, Iran has held at least three exercises in the Gulf.
The exercises were meant to demonstrate Iran's swarm capabilities of using
fast patrol boats and mini-submarines to overcome the superior firepower of
U.S. destroyers and frigates.
U.S. Central Command, headed by Adm. William Fallon and which oversaw a
counter-proliferation exercise in the Gulf in October 2006, has drafted
strike options against Iran that included a range of scenarios. The
scenarios envisioned U.S. retaliation for an Iranian provocation in the Gulf
or a mission to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons facilities.
"If there is strong presence, then it sends a clear message that you
better be careful about trying to intimidate others," said Capt. Bradley
Johanson, commander of the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier. "Iran has
adopted a very escalatory posture with the things that they have done."
The Pentagon has overseen tests of an air weapon designed to
destroy underground Iranian facilities. Boeing reported a successful static
test of its Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, at the White Sands Missile
Range in New Mexico in March.
"The weapon's effectiveness against hard and deeply buried targets
allows the warfighter to hold adversaries' most highly valued military
facilities at risk, especially those protecting weapons of mass
destruction," Boeing program director Bob McClurg said.
The MOP, in a test conducted by the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction
Agency, was designed for deployment by U.S. Air Force B-52 and B-2 bombers.
Officials said the next test would mark an airborne demonstration of the
13,500 kilogram bomb.