Iran shot down an American drone monitoring Iranian activity where suspected mines were possibly being placed in the straits of Hormuz.
Video evidence shows what is alleged to be IRGCN personnel removing what appears to be an explosive device from the side of one of the ships, what U.S. Central Command called a limpet mine. A New York Times reporter and former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer defines what limpet mines are and how they work, here.
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is back underway after spending a few days in port in Duqm, Oman late last week. Recently, Oman has made an agreement to allow U.S. Navy ships more access to Duqm. According to Reuters, U.S. officials say this will allow the U.S. military better access the Gulf region and reduce the need to send ships through the Strait of Hormuz
A squadron of F15E Strike Eagles landed in the UAE yesterday. The F15 is a fighter bomber, meaning equal to the Eurofighter but can carry enough payload - 20,000 pounds - to match the B-29 stratofortress which was used in the bombings of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The difference between the two fighter bombers, the B-29 flies at 350-400 mph, the F15 can fly at 1875 mph. They both carry the same payload, 10 tons.
These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of June 17, 2019, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.
To learn more on Usni:
https://news.usni.org/2019/06/17/usni-news-fleet-and-marine-tracker-june-17-2019
* Life imitates art, Star Wars shifts from fiction to fact
