Three U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers Will Soon Be In The Middle East [View all]

Source: Yahoo! News/Forbes

Sun, April 19, 2026 at 6:02 PM EDT


The record-length deployment of the United States Navy’s newest and largest operational nuclear-powered supercarrier continues. The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) has been at sea for 299 days as of Sunday, surpassing the post-Vietnam War-era record of 294 days of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) set during that aircraft carrier’s 2019-2020 deployment.

U.S. Navy officials have indicated that USS Gerald R. Ford could be deployed for up to 11 months, equaling and even surpassing the 332-day deployment of USS Midway (CVA-41), which lasted from April 10, 1972, until March 3, 1973, at the peak of the Vietnam War. That mission has remained a benchmark for long-term carrier operations, for which CVA-41 received a Presidential Citation.

CVN-78 Is Back In The Middle East Region

According to reports, the USS Gerald R. Ford, along with the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Mahan 9 (DDG-72) and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81), transited the Suez Canal over the weekend.

CVN-78 and her escorts are now operating in the United States Central Command area of responsibility in the Red Sea. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group had previously been in the waters between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula when a fire broke out on the flagship supercarrier in the middle of March, forcing its return to port for repairs. The carrier first headed to Crete and then to Split, Croatia, where she departed on April 2, resuming operations.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/three-u-navy-aircraft-carriers-220221224.html