The Pentagon is sending three warships and thousands of additional US Marines to the Middle East, widening America’s force posture as the Iran War deepens.

The Navy is trying to preserve a sea-based Marine airpower option on ships that are becoming harder to keep at sea. The “lightning carrier” concept depends on big-deck amphibious assault ships that can embark large numbers of F-35Bs instead of the smaller aviation mix normally tied to a Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The three ships that make up the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group with their embarked Marines deployed from the West Coast this week, USNI News has learned. The ARG and Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit completed certification exercises,

In June 2022, shipbuilder HII demonstrated what a mothership role for amphibious shipping might look like. (HII) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s amphibious ships are as much of a Swiss Army knife as the Marine expeditionary units that deploy aboard them.

Dec. 23 (UPI) --The readiness of the Navy's fleet of 32 amphibious warfare ships, which are deemed crucial in quickly projecting U.S. power around the world, is in dire shape, according to a scathing report issued this month. The Government Accountability ...