The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush was spotted off the coast of Namibia, yesterday. The Bush, which deployed at the end of March, did not sail through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean Sea, a typical transit for East Coast-based carriers headed to the Middle East. The carrier and its escorts—which include the destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS Mason and USS Ross—are instead sailing around Africa, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News. Supply-class fast oiler USNS Arctic is also operating with the Bush Carrier Strike Group.
By sailing around the southern tip of Africa, the Bush avoids the Red Sea, where the Houthis, allied with Iran, could make things very complicated for the U.S. Navy, as they did when the U.S. tried to counter their campaign against Israel during the Gaza war in 2024 and 2025
