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Over the next week, no US Navy aircraft carriers will be in the Middle East and no American aircraft carriers will be at sea throughout the world, according to Fox News. The absence of the American aircraft carriers is considered a significant development in light of the various threats around the world with which the US is dealing.

The carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike crew will return to the US after seven months at sea. The aircraft aboard the carrier are responsible for hundreds of attacks against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria. The departure of USS George H.W. Bush, Eisenhower’s replacement carrier, was delayed by more than six months. According to senior level US Navy officials, the replacement carrier is only expected to arrive in about another week.

This is not the first time that the Middle East has been without an American aircraft carrier in its waters. Last year, the US Army relied on a French aircraft carrier while one of its carriers returned to America. However, this is the first time that the world has gone without American aircraft carriers at sea since 1945.

While there is currently no American aircraft carrier in the Middle East, there are several ships with thousands of Marines on board as well as helicopters and aircraft ready to respond to any possible threat. In addition, US Navy officials told Fox News that the military has several other aircraft that are filling the gap that the aircraft carriers left behind in the Middle East and around the world.

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This is a lightly edited version of the original article published by Jerusalem Online at http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/world-news/around-the-globe/no-american-aircraft-carriers-at-sea-25677