The American nuclear submarine (Florida) has started a new mission in the Middle East. US Navy spokesman Timothy Hawkins revealed in a statement that it entered the Middle East region on Thursday, and crossed the Suez Canal.
The US Navy said today (Saturday): The nuclear-powered, guided-missile submarine is operating in the Middle East in support of the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet.
It added that it is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, and was sent to the US Fifth Fleet to help spread maritime security and stability in the region.
The capabilities of the guided missile submarine Florida fall under the Ohio class, and for many years it has been one of the most diverse and secret platforms in the US Navy fleet, and it carries 66 members of the Special Operations Forces on board.
And the guided missile nuclear submarine named after the 27th state of the United States (Florida), since 1983.
The USS Florida entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard in July 2003 to refuel and convert from a ballistic missile submarine to a cruise missile submarine.
It is one of only 4 guided-missile submarines in the US Navy's fleet and completed more than 50 patrols before being converted to a guided-missile submarine. In addition, it is equipped with superior communication capabilities.
Florida has two crews (the Blue and the Gold), and includes about 160 sailors who take turns operating it, and usually deploy with the ship for 3 months before switching. The blue crew had previously returned the submarine to its original port.
On March 19, 2011, in conjunction with US Navy warships and submarines, Florida launched 93 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan air defense targets as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn.
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the US code name for Washington's role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 during the initial period of March 19-31, 2011. It became Florida's first combat action.
The Tomahawk cruise missile is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic land attack missile primarily used by the US Navy in ship and submarine-based land attack operations.
Okaz (Washington) @okaz_online