Tracking US military assets
in the Iran war

 

What is the US military committing to the war in Iran? And what does that mean for a potential conflict with China?

Last updated: 5:30 p.m. (ET), 03/27/2026

Operation Epic Fury is stressing military capabilities—aircraft carriers, bombers, missile defense systems—in ways that will have an impact in other theaters around the world. That includes US efforts to credibly deter Chinese aggression and prevail against China in a future conflict. Monitoring the military assets that are relevant to US strategy in the Indo-Pacific and currently deployed to Iran offers insight into how the war might affect the US military’s readiness to meet the threat posed by Beijing—the most consequential challenge the United States faces.

Actual numbers of US inventory and deployment data are classified. This tracker, developed by the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Forward Defense team, provides estimates for a subset of assets where open-source information is most reliable. It will be regularly updated and expanded with new data and expert context.

Key takeaways as of March 27, 2026:

• Aircraft carriers: One of four available US aircraft carriers—the USS Abraham Lincoln—is deployed to support Operation Epic Fury. The second carrier deployed to the war, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), arrived March 23 at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Greece for repairs after an internal fire.
  • The USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is certified to deploy and is reportedly being considered to join Operation Epic Fury. It is still in the Atlantic. Two destroyers assigned to the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group, the USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Ross (DDG-71), left their homeport this week to join the USS Bush, indicating that the group is getting closer to deployment. The Navy has not yet announced where the strike group will be deployed.
  • The USS Nimitz (CVN-68) was set to be decommissioned in May 2026, decreasing total US inventory to ten. However, in March 2026, the US Navy decided to extend the Nimitz’s service life to March 2027, with unclear impacts on its readiness.
  • The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) has finished maintenance, is training off the coast of San Diego, and is preparing for imminent deployment to a location not yet publicly disclosed.
• Mine countermeasures: It is unclear if there are any ships with mine countermeasure capability involved in Operation Epic Fury.
  • The US Fifth Fleet, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, has three littoral combat ships (LCS) outfitted with mine countermeasures mission packages. In the week of March 15, the Navy confirmed that two are currently in Singapore for a “scheduled maintenance and logistics stop,” with the third reportedly in the Indian Ocean—presumably to avoid Iranian attacks.
  • LCS are modular and can be outfitted with a variety of mission packages. Only four of the twenty-eight LCS have been equipped with the mine countermeasures mission package, according to the Navy. 
  • The Navy decommissioned four of its eight Avenger Mine Countermeasure ships assigned to the US Fifth Fleet, in September 2025. The four remaining Avengers are homeported in Sasebo, Japan.

• Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) and Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD): One of the three ships available from the LHA and LHD classes—the USS Tripoli (LHA-7)—is committed to Operation Epic Fury as part of the deployment of an amphibious ready group and Marine expeditionary unit (ARG/MEU), with another one, the USS Boxer, reportedly on the way to relieve the Tripoli.
  • The USS Tripoli, previously stationed in Japan, was in port at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, en route to the Middle East, on March 23.
  • The USS Boxer (LHD-4) amphibious ready group reportedly deployed to the Middle East from San Diego on March 18. It is unclear if it completed all its deployment certifications before deploying, or if sailors were recalled from leave. A premature deployment could negatively impact sailor readiness and disrupt the ARG/MEU deployment cycle.
  • The only other known deployed LHD is the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) in the Caribbean.
  • A 2024 GAO report noted that LHDs suffer from a high rate of maintenance issues.
  • Following the July 2020 fire and the eventual decommissioning of the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), LHA and LHDs are not able to meet the Navy and Marine Corps’ goal of having 80 percent of the force ready to deploy.

• Amphibious transport dock (LPD) and dock landing ships (LSD): The USS New Orleans (LPD-19) arrived with the USS Tripoli ARG/MEU at Diego Garcia. The USS San Diego, which was previously operating with the group, is in port in Sasebo, Japan.
  • The lack of a second LPD/LSD reduces the group’s operational effectiveness.
  • The USS Boxer ARG contains the USS Portland (LPD-27) and USS Comstock (LSD-45).
  • The Government Accountability Office assessed in 2024 that nine out of ten LSDs were in “poor material condition.”

Analysis: Amphibious ready group deployments

The USS Boxer amphibious ready group and Marine expeditionary unit (ARG/MEU) reportedly deployed to the Middle East from San Diego on March 18, joining the USS Tripoli amphibious ready group currently at Diego Garcia, and the USS Iwo Jima amphibious ready group currently in the Caribbean. The deployment of a third ARG/MEU—typically comprising an LHA/LHD and a combination of two LPD/LSD—matches Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith’s plan for three forward-postured ARG/MEUs. However, under current maintenance and training realities, deploying the USS Boxer ARG/MEU now is a surge of US capabilities and does not signify a true achievement of the commandant’s goal. Deploying the USS Boxer early could limit the availability of ARG/MEUs in the future and prevent the United States from achieving a sustainable and ready three-forward-postured ARG/MEU plan. Unless the United States builds more ships for ARG/MEUs, the overextension of this limited capability will have significant long-term readiness implications.

• Arleigh Burke-class destroyers: An estimated 24 percent of the entire available destroyer class is deployed in Operation Epic Fury.
  • Arleigh Burke-class destroyers spend an average of nine years, 27 percent of their thirty-five-year service life, in maintenance.

• B-1 bombers: Nearly half of the mission-capable B-1 fleet is conducting strikes as part of Operation Epic Fury, with all operating from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom.

• B-2 bombers: B-2 deployments are highly classified. An estimated 26 percent of the entire available fleet could be deployed for Operation Epic Fury.
  • B-2 bombers take an average of 119 maintenance hours per flight hour following a bombing mission. This indicates that at least the four B-2s used in the early phases of Operation Epic Fury might be currently unavailable, along with an unknown number of the seven B-2s that flew in the June 2025 strikes the United States and Israel conducted against Iran (Operation Midnight Hammer) and an unknown number currently under programmed depot maintenance.

• E-3 AWACS aircraft: An estimated 66 to 75 percent of the total available E-3 AWACS are deployed in Operation Epic Fury.
  • In 2024, slightly more than half of the Air Force’s AWACS fleet was assessed to be “mission capable”—able to carry out at least one of the platform’s key missions, which includes air surveillance—and the aircraft is in the process of being retired.
• MQ-9 Reaper: The total number of MQ-9s used in Operation Epic Fury is not known.
  • The United States rotates MQ-9s in “orbits,” in which several of the airwing are loitering over enemy airspace at a given time. MQ-9s are capable of sustained day-long loitering missions.
  • Open-source reporting indicates that the United States has lost twelve MQ-9s since the start of Epic Fury, building on an estimated loss of ten percent of the fleet since 2023.
  • MQ-9 losses in Epic Fury could cost the United States from $192 million to $678 million.

• KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus: An estimated 33 percent of mission capable KC-135s and KC-46s are involved in refueling missions in Operation Epic Fury. These planes are critical to supporting sustained air missions.

• Patriot missile batteries: An estimated 7 to 11 percent of available Patriot batteries are in the Middle East.
  • Open-source reporting indicates that there is at least one Patriot battery in Saudi Arabia and one in Qatar, and four batteries were transferred to the region in spring 2025.

• THAAD systems: An estimated 29 to 43 percent of available US THAAD systems are committed to Operation Epic Fury.
  • Out of an estimated five operational THAAD systems that are outside the continental United States, two to three of them are in the Middle East. One is in Jordan and one is in Israel. It’s unclear if the second THAAD battery deployed to Israel in spring 2025 remains in place. The other two are permanently deployed in Guam and South Korea.
  • In March, the United States also reportedly moved up to 48 THAAD interceptors from the THAAD launchers in Korea to the Middle East.

About the authors

Joe Costa is the director of the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense Initiative.

Theresa Luetkefend is an associate director with the Forward Defense Initiative.

Moss Gillespie is a young global professional with the Forward Defense Initiative.

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