The US Navy’s aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Gerald R. Ford conducts a patrol mission in the Adriatic. The world’s largest aircraft carrier arrived in the Mediterranean Sea in early summer 2023.
The home of the USS Gerald R. Ford is Norfolk, Virginia. The aircraft carrier’s journey, worth more than $13bn, began a few months ago. It made a historic visit to Oslo in late spring, and docked in Croatia months later.
In August, the USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in Turkey. Prior to that, it participated in exercises with the landing ships Anadolu, Goksu, Gediz, Imbat, Meltem, Burakreis and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters.
The USS Gerald R. Ford’s fighter wing includes EA-18G Growler, F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft, MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters. The aircraft carrier strike group also includes the destroyers USS Ramage (DDG-61), USS McFaul (DDG-74), and the cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60).
USS Gerald R. Ford became the replacement in Europe for USS Harry Truman. The eighth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier left the Mediterranean Sea, where it had been stationed since mid-spring 2022 amid the war in Ukraine.
Source: USNI News, National Review
