The record What this system is, where it comes from, who operates it and which of Vigil’s modules it is relevant to — with the evidence each of those rests on.
Record
Conflict relevance
This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the module below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.
Operators
The United States in the Gulf: Central Command said on 10 October 2026 that a United States fighter had disabled a vessel leaving an Iranian port, the fourth since the blockade of Iranian ports began on 14 July; it named neither the aircraft type nor the ship it flew from. No carrier, air wing, sortie or position is recorded here.
Battlefield role
Strike and maritime air power from a deck that needs no host-nation base, which is why it matters in a war fought from the territory of states that were themselves attacked.
Strengths
Mobility and independence from basing, and a wing that brings its own electronic attack and airborne early warning.
Limitations
A carrier's presence is the single most reported fact about American naval posture, and this record deliberately carries none of it: no carrier, no air wing, no sortie rate, no count and no position. Which aircraft disabled which vessel is not stated by the command, and the type attribution of any strike in this war is not established.
Documented conflict use
Carrier air wings have flown in every Central Command campaign since 1991. In 2026 the command's statements on strikes in Iran and on the blockade of Iranian ports describe fighters without naming the service or the type; carrier presence in the region is reported by the specialist press.
Branch & service operators
Assessed as of — 2026-10-10 Last reviewed — 2026-10-29