By Andrea Shalal

BERLIN, June 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. plane provider USS Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the Mediterranean late on Monday, the U.S. Navy stated, at a time when U.S. officers are elevating alarm over Russia’s maritime enlargement.

The Eisenhower, often known as the “Ike,” will relieve the USS Harry S. Truman provider strike group which later this month heads again to the United States after an prolonged eight-month deployment.

The Eisenhower, which additionally leads a strike group of cruisers, destroyers and warplanes, is scheduled to proceed on to the Gulf to take part in U.S. air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. Exact particulars of its deployment haven’t been launched.

Fighter jets primarily based on the Truman have been finishing up air strikes towards Islamic State from the Mediterranean since June 3.

The Eisenhower’s deployment is a part of a rotation of U.S. forces supporting maritime safety operations across the globe, the Navy stated. Its strike group contains two guided-missile cruisers, 4 guided-missile destroyers and 9 air squadrons.

The Navy stated the presence of two provider strike teams within the Mediterranean confirmed the U.S. dedication to security and safety, whereas sending “a strong message of support to our allies and partners in Europe.”

The transfer coincides with NATO army workouts throughout jap Europe and Turkey that will increase tensions with Russia.

U.S. officers say Russia is working warships and submarines within the Mediterranean and plans its personal army workouts in coming weeks.

Vice Admiral James Foggo, who heads the U.S. Navy’s fleet within the Mediterranean, and naval analyst Alarik Fritz final week stated Russia was aggressively increasing its floor and submarine maritime capabilities from the Arctic to the Black Sea.

“Combined with extensive and frequent submarine patrols throughout the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea, and forward-deployed forces in Syria, Russia has the capability to hold nearly all NATO maritime forces at risk,” they wrote within the naval journal Proceedings.

They stated it was essential to leverage allied navies to work with NATO companions so they may reply to emergencies and defend maritime infrastructure.

Russia final week stated it will reply to a U.S. destroyer’s entry into the Black Sea with unspecified measures, saying it and different deployments had been designed to ratchet up tensions forward of a NATO summit in Warsaw subsequent month.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

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