Pentagon Sends 2nd Carrier, Patriot Missiles & THAAD to Middle East

President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have made rapid moves to add missile defense and Naval forces to the Middle East in response to "escalations" by Iran and its proxy forces. 

The USS Ford and its supporting Carrier Strike Group has been in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for at least a week, and now Austin is adding a second Carrier Strike Group to the area and activated the deployment of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense systems to the region. 

"Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region," Austin said in a Pentagon statement.