As the war against Iran entered it’s second month, more and more warships, personal and jets arrive in the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. As Iran continues to target neutral nations across the wider region, the EU countries are ramping up their presence with a big EU force being stationed close to Cyprus and structured around the French Charles de Gaulle carrier.
The US on the other hand is focusing heavily on the Indian Ocean with most of their active warships in the region entering the theater. What each vessel bring with it ranges from more VLS cells to troops and logistics. As of today, and according to the overall commander of operation Epic Fury, admiral Brad, the United States Air Force and Navy have hit more than 10.000 targets inside Iran with hundreds, if not thousands, of ballistic missiles and one-way drones have been intercepted by their combined efforts. Most of these missiles were targeting neutral countries and civilian centers across the Middle East.
As the Iran war enters its second month, a major naval buildup is underway across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The United States has positioned two carrier strike groups and two Expeditionary Strike Groups with over 5,600 Marines, while France leads a reinforced European presence centered around the Charles de Gaulle Carrier Strike Group near Cyprus. This map and analysis break down all active US, UK, French, and EU naval forces currently deployed in the region as of 27 March 2026.
While the efforts of the US forces continue against the Mullah government of Iran, President Donald Trump keeps on talking about ending the war and achieving a ‘great’ deal in favor of the US and Israel, but is that the case? American forces are not withdrawing from the field or slowing down their hits but instead are getting reinforced. The navy is close to having 2 Expeditionary strike groups who are being led by USS Tripoli and USS Boxer for a total of 5.600 marine carrying capacity (About 2.800 per group) while the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division and elements of the 82nd Airborne Division will arrive shortly to the theater. Is President Trump trying to gain time in order to assemble a sizeable force in the area so the US can land troops on Iran’s islands on the Hormuz Strait and the Kharg island? Only time will tell.
On the European side of the war, the EU leaders seem to slowly be changing their mind on launching a mission to Hormuz with several leader expressing their willingness to contribute assets to such an effort. This change of views didn’t come on its own though, Greece was the first to actively respond against the threat posed by Iran on Cyprus, an EU member state. After Greece deployed 2 frigates and 4 F-16 jets to the island, France followed suit by deploying the Charles de Gaulle CSG to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Spain, Italy and the Netherland also contributed with a frigate each for the Carrier Strike Group.
At the same time, a number of different EU missions are active in the greater area, Operation EUNAVFOR IRINI, EUNAVFOR ATALANT and Operation EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, with the latter being the biggest and objectively more important one. Off the coast of Lebanon there’s also operation UNIFIL with a single German vessel active. Even though these operations are irrelevant to the war effort against Iran, they could provide immediate help if needed as a number of frigates are active and on patrols.
Current Ship Deployments
UNIFIL
FGS Nordrhein-Westfalen (F223)
BNS Sangram
EU
EUNAVFOR IRINI:
HS Aigaion (F460)
EUNAVFOR ATALANTA:
ITS Bianchi (F599)
ESPS Canarias (F86)
EUNAVFOR ASPIDES:
ITS Rizzo (F595)
FS Forbin (D620)
HS Hydra (F452)
Charles de Gaulle CSG:
Charles de Gaulle CV
FS Chevalier Paul (D621)
FS Alsace (D656)
ITS Andrea Doria (D553)
ESPS Cristobal Colon (F105)
HNLM Evertsen (F805)
Jacques Chevallier (A725)
Tonnere Group:
FS Tonnere (L9014)
FS Languedoc (D653)
FS Courbet (F712)
Greek Cyprus Force:
HS Kimon (F601)
HS Psara (F454)
United States of America
EUCOM 6th Fleet:
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
USS Mahan (DDG 72)
USS Roosevelt (DDG 80)
USS Bulkeley (DDG 84)
USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116)
USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79)
USS Churchill (DDG 81)
USS Bainbridge (DDG 96)
Escort SSN (unnamed)
CENTCOM 5th Fleet:
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)
USS Mitscher (DDG 57)
USS McFaul (DDG 74)
USS Spruance (DDG 111)
USS John Finn (DDG 113)
USS Peterson Jr (DDG 121)
USS Milius (DDG 69)
USS Pinckney (DDG 91)
USS Murphy (DDG 112)
USS D. Black (DDG 119)
Escort SSN
Persian Gulf
USS Canberra (LCS 30)
Western Med:
USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20)
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51)
Naval Auxiliary
USNS Kaiser (T-AO 187)
USNS Kanawha (T-AO 196)
USNS Brashear (T-AKE 3)
USNS McLean (T-AKE 12)
On Transit:
USS Tripoli (LHA 7)
USS New Orleans (LPD 18)
USS Rushmore (LSD 47)
USS John L. Canley (ESB 6)
USS Boxer (LHD 4)
USS Portland (LPD 27)
USS Comstock (LSD 45)
United Kingdom
HMS Dragon (D35)
HMS Lyme Bay (L3007)
Great job!!