International security

Why the US Navy has 10 ships, 130 aircraft and 9,000 personnel in the Mediterranean

Two deployed aircraft carriers, heading opposite directions, met up in the Mediterranean Sea to do some high-end ops and snap some selfies to commemorate the event.

The event happened after the carrier John C. Stennis strike group transited the Suez Canal, entering the Mediterranean, where the Abraham Lincoln strike group awaited.

The combined strike groups means that, right now, more than 130 U.S. aircraft, 10 ships and 9,000 sailors and Marines are now operating in close proximity in the eastern Mediterranean.

Only twice before in the past two decades have two U.S. aircraft carriers operated together in the Mediterranean Sea at the same time.

The last time was three years ago, when the carriers Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower crossed paths in June 2016 at the end and beginning of their respective cruises, operating together for a time.