The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and her Carrier Strike Group, who on Thursday hit 296-days at sea, surpassing the record for the longest deployed aircraft carrier since the end of the Cold War, has since transited the Suez Canal from the Eastern Mediterranean and is once again conducting operations in the Red Sea, in support of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), two defense officials tell the Associated Press.
The Ford, which initially left the Red Sea in March, after suffering a severe ventilation fire that started in the ship’s laundry and resulted in damage to hundreds of berthings and other compartments, was expected to finally return to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia after loitering for the last few weeks in the Eastern Mediterranean – with stops in Crete and Croatia. Though it appears that the carrier and its crew has yet again been ordered to remain on station near Iran until the arrival of the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), who is currently taking the long way to the region around the Cape of Good Hope in Southern Africa.
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) Apr 18, 2026
The post The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and her Carrier Strike Group, who on Thursday hit 296-days at sea, surpassing the record for the longest deployed aircraft carrier since the end of the Cold War, has since transited the Suez Canal from the Eastern Mediterranean and is once again conducting operations in the Red Sea, in support of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), two defense officials tell the Associated Press. The Ford, which initially left the Red Sea in March, after suffering a severe ventilation fire that started in the ship’s laundry and resulted in damage to hundreds of berthings and other compartments, was expected to finally return to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia after loitering for first appeared on October Surprise 2016 – octobersurprise2016.org.
