NAPLES, Italy — Video footage released Wednesday by the Navy shows a U.S. destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean Sea launching missiles in defense of Israel against an Iranian air attack this week.
The two videos show separate, single missile launches on Tuesday from the USS Bulkeley in response to the attack, Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday.
Along with the destroyer USS Cole, which is also in the eastern Mediterranean, Bulkeley successfully engaged Iranian missiles targeting Israel, Urban said, adding that both ships have the Aegis ballistic missile defense system.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Bulkeley and Cole joined Israeli air defense units in firing about a dozen interceptors at inbound Iranian missiles. Ryder didn’t say how many of them were shot down.
The U.S. action came as Israel fended off a bombardment of nearly 200 Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Tel Aviv and central parts of the country.
A screenshot from a video released by U.S. 6th Fleet of USS Bulkeley launching a missile in defense of an Iranian attack on Israel. (U.S. Navy)
Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for Israel’s recent killing of several officials of the militant group Hezbollah, including its top leader. Iran’s ballistic missile volley followed an Israeli ground assault into Lebanon on Tuesday to further cripple Hezbollah.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. is sending thousands of troops to the Middle East to boost the security of American forces already in the region and support Israel if necessary.
The additional forces include squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16, A-10 and F-22 fighter jets and the personnel needed to support them.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, that three more aircraft squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16s and A-10s are headed to the region, one of which had already arrived.
They join an already heavy U.S. military presence in the region, including the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Arabian Sea and the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group in the eastern Mediterranean. The destroyer USS Arleigh Burke also is in the eastern Mediterranean, USNI News reported Tuesday.
An additional four destroyers are in the Red Sea, and a guided missile submarine also is operating in the Middle East.
On Sept. 23, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group departed its homeport in Norfolk, Va., for a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations, which includes the eastern Mediterranean.
Stars and Stripes reporter Caitlyn Burchett contributed to this report.
