The aircraft carriers Kitty Hawk, Constellation, and Theodore Roosevelt and their respective battle groups may also leave the region shortly in a gradual scaling down of forces, said Vice Admiral Timothy Keating.

The US military deployed five of its aircraft carriers for the war against Iraq, three in the Persian Gulf and two in the Mediterranean, Keating told a press conference in Bahrain.

They and their accompanying naval escorts have launched more than 800 Tomahawk cruise missiles and provided the base for more than 7,000 sorties by US and British warplanes during the conflict, he said.

SPACE.WIRE