The strategic location of U.S. access to the Dominican air base enables rapid military air operations across the Caribbean and northern South America, providing forward reach for intelligence and reconnaissance missions, refueling, and logistical support in proximity to Venezuelan airspace. (Picture source: Army Recognition Group)
The Dominican Republic's eastward-facing coastline places it directly along key trafficking routes used by narco-maritime operators moving shipments from northern Venezuela and Colombia toward Puerto Rico and southern Florida. San Isidro, located just outside the capital, offers immediate access to the Mona Passage, one of the most heavily trafficked smuggling corridors in the Caribbean. From a military standpoint, the air base provides an ideal launch point for ISR aircraft, rotary-wing support, and aerial refueling tankers operating over a wide maritime battlespace.
Las Américas International Airport, with dual-use civilian and military infrastructure, enables rapid throughput of logistics flights and maintenance operations while minimizing the need for long-range aerial repositioning from the continental U.S. This allows U.S. forces to reduce their logistical footprint while maintaining persistent surveillance and interdiction capabilities over thousands of square miles of contested waters.
The strategic value of the Dominican basing arrangement lies in its ability to close a critical gap in regional coverage. Previously, U.S. aircraft operating from Puerto Rico or forward-deployed ships faced extended transit times to reach the eastern Caribbean's trafficking lanes. With San Isidro now available for staging, mission planners can reduce sortie times and increase time on station for assets such as MQ-9 Reaper drones, P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, and KC-130 refueling platforms. The result is a tighter operational loop, with greater responsiveness to real-time intelligence cues.
This expanded air access complements a significantly bolstered U.S. naval presence now confirmed across the Caribbean theater. As of November 20, 2025, the U.S. Navy has deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Carrier Strike Group, which is operating in the Caribbean alongside its escort destroyers USS Mahan (DDG-72), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), and USS Bainbridge (DDG-96). These vessels are shown grouped with the Ford on SOUTHCOM's operational map and provide layered air defense, maritime screening, anti-surface warfare, and Tomahawk strike capability.
In addition to the destroyers assigned to the Ford Strike Group, the SOUTHCOM asset graphic confirms the presence of two Ticonderoga-class cruisers, USS Gettysburg (CG-64) and USS Lake Erie (CG-70), operating independently in the Caribbean Sea. These cruisers expand the region's collective command-and-control and long-range missile strike capacity. Their presence is complemented by additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, including USS Stockdale (DDG-106) and USS Gravely (DDG-107), which are also depicted in the wider Caribbean operating area. Together, these ships contribute to a strike complex of more than 248 Tomahawk land-attack missiles available for contingency operations, as highlighted in the SOUTHCOM breakdown.
The Ford's embarked air wing features F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AEW aircraft, and MH-60R/S helicopters, which provide advanced maritime ISR, anti-surface warfare, and rapid interdiction capabilities. The Ford Strike Group serves as the command-and-control hub for distributed maritime operations that extend from the southern approaches to Puerto Rico to the sea lanes off northern Venezuela.
In addition to the strike group, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are also operating in the theater. Embarked aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), USS San Antonio (LPD-17), and USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), these amphibious forces include VMM-263 "Thunder Chickens" flying MV-22B Ospreys, enhancing the U.S. ability to conduct vertical lift operations across the island chain and support expeditionary objectives, including interdiction and force presence missions.
Complementing the surface fleet are long-range ISR and strike platforms deployed from the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico. MQ-9 Reapers, RC-135 Rivet Joint, P-8A Poseidons, EP-3 Aries II, and E-8 JSTARS aircraft are actively conducting surveillance sorties in coordination with SOUTHCOM's maritime task forces. Forward operating locations in Puerto Rico provide critical basing for these platforms, which are supported by KC-135 and KC-46 tankers rotating from the southeastern United States.
Notably, the presence of U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer bombers in recent forward flights, combined with the confirmed deployment of cruisers and destroyers carrying more than 248 Tomahawk land-attack missiles, underscores the flexibility to shift from interdiction to full-spectrum combat operations if required. These strike options demonstrate that the region is being treated not only as a counter-narcotics battlespace but also as a potential contingency theater for wider security operations.
Recent interdiction operations reflect the integration of this posture. In multiple engagements between early October and mid-November, U.S. maritime forces intercepted semi-submersible vessels and go-fast boats suspected of carrying large narcotics shipments. In one confirmed case, an MH-60R from the Ford Strike Group tracked and disabled a high-speed smuggling craft south of Puerto Rico, resulting in a recovery operation supported by Coast Guard law enforcement teams.
The scale of deployment confirms that U.S. forces in the Caribbean are operating at a tempo not seen since the height of anti-cartel campaigns in the 1990s. While officially framed as support for counter-narcotics missions, the alignment of air, sea, and amphibious components suggests strategic readiness for contingencies well beyond interdiction. With the Dominican Republic's airfields now integrated into this posture, the U.S. has achieved a forward-operating position that allows it to hold targets at risk across northern South America while sustaining persistent ISR coverage throughout the region.
Written by Alain Servaes - Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.