A US military buildup in the Middle East is expected to be the largest gathering of US Navy and Air Force capability in recent memory.

The recent deployments come as tensions soar in the region after the Iranian regime and its Lebanese proxy Hizbullah vowed to avenge last month's killings of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hizbullah commander Fuad Shukr.

The Pentagon on August 12 ordered the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to accelerate its deployment from the Asia Pacific to the region, where it will join the Theodore Roosevelt CSG.

The Abraham Lincoln CSG includes the Nimitz-class carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing 9 and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS O'Kane, USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. and USS Spruance.

The Lincoln has F-35C fighter jets aboard, along with F/A-18 fighter aircraft.

Meanwhile, the Roosevelt CSG includes the Nimitz-class carrier Theodore, Carrier Air Wing 11 and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Russell, USS Daniel K. Inouye and USS Halsey.

Each strike group is potentially accompanied by up to two attack submarines.

Nimitz-class carriers can conduct up to 125 strike sorties per day at surge rates and engage up to six precision targets per sortie.

The surface ships and attack submarines joining them also have Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles that can strike both enemy ships and land targets from up to 1,609km away and at speeds of up to 885km per hour.

Special capabilities

In a rare move, the US Navy on August 11 made public the deployment of the USS Georgia, an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, to the Middle East.

The service typically does not publicize its submarines' whereabouts but will do so during times of heightened international tensions to demonstrate US resolve.

The USS Georgia is one of the Navy's four Guided Missile Submarines (SSGNs), which can carry up to 154 Tomahawk missiles.

The Pentagon on August 9 also announced the deployment of F-22 Raptor fighter jets to the region.

Alongside the Abraham Lincoln's F-35C Lightning IIs, the two stealth aircraft can penetrate deep into enemy airspace to locate and destroy targets, including Iran's known high value targets.

The Lightning II can also utilize its stealth and networked capabilities to obtain precise intelligence on targets, which it then passes on to heavily armed F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

Super Hornets have impressive ordnance, including the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response), Paveway laser guided bombs and other munitions for ground attack.

If necessary, the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which are deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean, could also rapidly follow up on aerial successes.