A Connecticut-based submarine is heading to the Mediterranean Sea, where it will wait to respond if needed if the violence in Libya escalates.
Groton's USS Providence, a nuclear-powered submarine, crossed the Suez canal last weekend with a destroyer, the USS Mason, and the USS Enterprise carrier strike group, according to The Day of New London.
A Navy spokesman said the USS Kearsarge, the USS Ponce and the USS Barry are already in the Mediterranean.
For now, the Navy is positioning with no details as to what the troops will do.
Navy ships could be used as a show of force patrol, a blockade or to enforce a no-fly zone.
The "exact mission doesn't seem to have been decided by the U.S. and international leadership on the political side," according to Peter W. Singer, director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative.
Loren B. Thompson of the thinktank Lexington Institute told The Day.
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"Submarines are so stealthy, they can collect intelligence that other means cannot. And having a ship like the Providence nearby makes a big difference in terms of understanding what's actually happening in the area," Thompson said.
