Eisenhower Aircraft Carrier Group Heads Home After Months Battling Houthis in Red Sea

The USS aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower sails in the Red Sea on June 12, 2024. (Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)

The U.S. Navy’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group left the Red Sea region this weekend after fighting there for nearly eight months to stop the Houthi drone and missile attacks targeting commercial shipping in the key waterway.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that the carrier strike group officially left the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility and would transit the Mediterranean Sea back to the United States.

The Houthis, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, have harassed the Red Sea shipping lane for months with missiles and explosive-laden drones.

A Zaidi Shiite Islamic faction, the Houthis began their attacks in October 2023, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas—another U.S.-designated terrorist group—in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have insisted they are targeting commercial ships belonging to or associated with Israel and its allies and have threatened to continue these attacks as long as the Gaza conflict persists.

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and its sailors have, in turn, intercepted dozens of Houthi missiles and drones, shielding numerous commercial ships in their journeys through the Red Sea.

The carrier also has launched dozens of aerial sorties, enabling strikes on suspected drone and missile sites and other Houthi targets in Yemen.

The strike group saw its Red Sea deployment extended twice as the Houthis continued their attacks.

CENTCOM reported that the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group logged more than 30,000 flight hours and sailed more than 55,000 miles as part of its deployment.

“We are all proud of the contributions made by the sailors of the Ike Strike Group to regional maritime security during a challenging deployment in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Safe travels home for a well-deserved rest,” Vice Adm. George Wickoff, the commander of the Navy’s CENTCOM component, said in a June 23 social media post.

Despite their efforts, the strike group has been unable to block every Houthi attack.

The Houthis have damaged several commercial ships with missiles, aerial drones, and more recently an explosive-laden remote-controlled boat.

At least two ships, the MV Rubymar and MV Tutor, have sunk because of the damage they’ve sustained in these attacks. One sailor was killed in the attack on the Tutor, earlier this month.

Three merchant sailors were killed in March when Houthi missiles struck the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier vessel MV True Confidence. Several other sailors have been injured in these attacks.

The Houthis have also repeatedly claimed they have struck and even sunk the Eisenhower, although the aircraft carrier’s captain has said those claims are untrue.

Nevertheless, the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group’s Red Sea mission had been one of the most intense periods of sea combat for the U.S. Navy since World War II.

CENTCOM reported on June 23, after the strike group left the Red Sea, that the Houthis had struck the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk cargo carrier MV Transworld Navigator as it sailed to Egypt from Malaysia.

It reported that the ship’s crew suffered minor injuries and the vessel itself sustained moderate damage but that it could continue on its course.

The U.S. military said it was the fourth time the Transworld Navigator had been attacked.

Maj. Gen. Ryder said on June 22 that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group would rotate into the Red Sea from the Indo-Pacific region in the coming days, picking up where the Eisenhower group left off.

The Pentagon spokesman insisted the United States will continue to maintain “a robust presence in the Indo-Pacific region” even as the Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group moves away from that area of operations.