USS Gerald R. Ford embarks on first deployment
USS Gerald R. Ford departs Naval Station Norfolk on its first deployment. (Photo: USN)
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden will participate in the deployment.
On 4 October, the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk on its first deployment to conduct operations and training in the Atlantic.
The Ford-class carrier sits at the centre of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG), which includes Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, USS Normandy, Rampage, Thomas Hudner and McFaul; replenishment oiler USNS Joshua Humpreys; dry cargo ship USNS Robert E. Peary; and US Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton.
The ship was planned to sail on 3 October but was postponed owing to inclement weather.
The deployment will involve some 9,000 personnel, 20 ships and 60 aircraft.
The Ford-class carriers are to displace around 100,000t full load, measure 332.8m in length, have a beam of 40.8m, and a draft of 7.8m.
The mammoth carriers are powered by two nuclear reactors producing a maximum speed of over 30kts.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![SAHA 2026: Aselsan seeks to replicate Turkey’s UAV success at sea]()
SAHA 2026: Aselsan seeks to replicate Turkey’s UAV success at sea
Turkey’s defence electronics company has unveiled two new uncrewed naval systems at SAHA 2026 – but the harder test will be converting it into an export success.
-
![HHI poised to start submarine production in Peru pending election outcome]()
HHI poised to start submarine production in Peru pending election outcome
South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries confirmed to Shephard that the company is awaiting the Peruvian government’s decision to allow it to move forward with the production of the HDS-1500 submarine.
-
![How the Hormuz mine threat exposes potential Baltic MCM shortfalls]()
How the Hormuz mine threat exposes potential Baltic MCM shortfalls
Ageing Baltic vessels and an absence of active minehunting vessel programmes in the region have been put under the spotlight in the recent conflict.
