The US Navy's Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is capable of defeating complex enemy air defense systems via Alpha strike.

The Truman CSG in September deployed to the US Naval Forces-Africa/US Sixth Fleet area of operations as part of a regularly scheduled deployment.

The CSG currently includes the Nimitz-class USS Truman, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stout.

As of November 18, the strike group was transiting to the Mediterranean after completing operations with allies and partners in the Norwegian Sea, according to USNI News.

As a cornerstone of US naval power, the CSG is uniquely equipped to conduct combat operations at sea with its ability to project power via strike operations and respond decisively to global crises.

Strike operations employ ballistic or cruise missiles, aircraft, naval surface fires, non-kinetic technologies, Marines or special warfare teams to attack targets on shore.

At the heart of the Truman CSG's power is its capacity to execute an Alpha strike.

Coined during the Vietnam War, the term refers to a large-scale air attack by the carrier's air wing.

For the USS Truman, that means a strike package of 36 F/A-18E/F fighters carrying an estimated 144 air-to-surface missiles, including the AGM-88 Harm missile designed to kill radars.

Overwhelming firepower

That amount of firepower can overwhelm and neutralize even the most advanced enemy air defense systems.

Even Russia's S-400, an advanced mobile, surface-to-air missile system that Iran is reportedly seeking to acquire, would likely buckle under a US Navy Alpha strike.

Widely regarded as the gold standard of Russian air defense, the system can reportedly track up to 80 targets simultaneously and is equipped with four different types of missiles to counter different types of incoming weapons and aircraft.

Despite its strengths, the S-400 has proven vulnerable to concentrated attacks.

Recent conflict in Ukraine have exposed its limitations, with reports of key components, including radars and command posts, being destroyed.

Overwhelming strikes, such as those launched by the Truman CSG, could saturate and defeat even the most advanced air defenses.