US aircraft carrier returns to the Mediterranean

USS Gerald R. Ford enters the Mediterranean, ending two months of absence of US aircraft carriers in the region.

Images shared on social media on June 15 showed the USS Gerald R. Ford moving through the Strait of Gibraltar to enter the Mediterranean, marking the return of the US super aircraft carrier to the region after a two-month absence.

Escorting the USS Gerald R. Ford are warships of Carrier Strike Group 12, including the destroyer USS Roosevelt, the cruiser USS Normandy and the logistics supply ship USNS Leroy Grumnan, as well as the Italian Navy's missile frigate Alpino.

USS Gerald R. Ford passed through the Strait of Gibraltar to enter the Mediterranean Sea on June 15. Photo: Twitter/Maritimegraphy — USS Gerald R. Ford passed through the Strait of Gibraltar to enter the Mediterranean Sea on June 15. Photo: *Twitter/Maritimegraphy*

The US Navy always deploys a permanent aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean to perform deterrence and protect NATO's eastern flank, amid rising tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border.

USS Gerald R. Ford is the third aircraft carrier deployed by the US to the Mediterranean since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in late February 2022, after the USS Harry S. Truman and USS George HW Bush, to reassure US allies in NATO.

The USS George HW Bush entered the area on August 25, 2022, replacing the USS Harry S. Truman, which had been in the area for more than nine months. This was also the longest continuous US aircraft carrier deployment in Europe in more than 20 years.

The Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was laid down in 2009, launched four years later and delivered to the US Navy in May 2017. The price of the USS Gerald R. Ford when delivered was 12.6 billion USD, exceeding the original budget by 2.4 billion USD, becoming the most expensive warship in the history of the US Navy. This is the largest aircraft carrier in the world with a length of 337 m, can carry 75 aircraft and a crew of more than 4,500 people.