U.S. Fired at Iranian Vessel Near Aircraft Carrier, Officials Confirm U.S. military officials confirmed that a naval vessel fired at an Iranian ship that approached the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, according to two unnamed sources briefed on the incident. The attack occurred earlier this week, though details about the exact circumstances remain limited. The officials described the engagement as a defensive response to the Iranian vessel’s proximity to the carrier, though it is unclear whether the shots were intended as warnings or actual attempts to disable the ship. The U.S. Navy reportedly used a 5-inch, 54-caliber Mark-45 gun, a standard deck weapon on destroyers and cruisers since the 1970s, to attempt to target the Iranian vessel. The officials noted that the gun fired multiple times but missed the ship. A helicopter equipped with Hellfire missiles was subsequently deployed and struck the Iranian vessel with two missiles. The status of the ship and its crew has not been disclosed. The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is operating in the Arabian Sea as part of U.S. military operations against Iran. It is joined by two destroyers, the USS Spruance and the USS Michael Murphy, though six other guided-missile destroyers are also active in the region. The exact type of helicopter used in the attack remains unspecified, but both Navy Seahawk and Marine Corps Viper helicopters are capable of carrying Hellfire missiles. The MH-60R Seahawks, in particular, are multi-mission aircraft used for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. This incident follows a previous confrontation in early February, when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone approached the Abraham Lincoln “aggressively” and “unnecessarily maneuvered” toward the carrier. The drone was shot down by a U.S.#iran #uss_abraham_lincoln #uss_spruance #uss_michael_murphy #shahed_139
