A second Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday escorted by guided missile destroyers, the U.S. Central Command said. 

The carrier, equipped with F-35 fighter jets, added to the U.S. ships already in the region, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, which arrived in mid-July. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Lincoln to transit from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East earlier this month as the Biden administration prepares to defend Israel against an expected Iranian attack. 

In addition to the Lincoln, Austin ordered the USS Georgia, a guided missile submarine, to the Middle East in a rare acknowledgment of U.S. submarine whereabouts. The most recent time the Pentagon has noted a submarine in U.S. Central Command was in November 2023 in the weeks after Hamas’ attack and the war in Gaza broke out. 

The USS Georgia, which is set to arrive in the Middle East soon, and the USS Lincoln add to the ships already in the region, including eight destroyers as of Wednesday morning, according to Navy officials. The destroyers accompanying the Lincoln were not included in the total.

The orders came in days after both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran vowed retaliation against Israel for back-to-back assassinations at the end of July. Israel has claimed responsibility for the strike that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut suburb but has not provided confirmation they killed Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. 

During Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel for a strike on an Iranian consulate in April, Navy destroyers like the USS Carney helped shoot down some of the incoming missiles. The attack, which used more than 300 missiles and drones, only inflicted minimal damage due to the defensive actions of Israel, the U.S. and other allies. 

This time, U.S. officials have told CBS News that ceasefire negotiations to stop the war in Gaza have paused Iran’s retaliation as it weighs how to respond. The Pentagon said the U.S. is sending additional forces to support Israel if there is an attack and to be prepared for any escalation. 

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder on Tuesday said the movements are “for ensuring that we have the forces in theater to respond to something if it happens now, but also ensuring we have forces in theater to be able to respond to whatever could be next in terms of potential escalation and trying to de-escalate the situation.”