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USS Gerald R. Ford Set To Break Longest Post‑Vietnam Carrier Deployment

The record run reflects a stretched carrier fleet facing simultaneous missions across Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East.

Sailors prepare cargo for transport on the flight deck, during a vertical replenishment while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on December 14, 2025.
A sailor transits the flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford, while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on December 18, 2025.
US Marines walk on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford while underway in the Caribbean Sea, on January 15.
Sailors move a safety line while being lowered in a rigid-hull inflatable boat, in the Caribbean Sea, on February 1.

Overview

  • The nuclear-powered carrier is set to reach 294 days at sea, passing USS Abraham Lincoln’s 2019–2020 mark and likely pushing beyond 300 days.
  • Since leaving Norfolk on June 24, 2025, the ship shifted from NATO drills in the High North to the Caribbean for Operation Southern Spear and the mission that captured Nicolás Maduro.
  • In February 2026 the carrier returned to the Mediterranean for Operation Epic Fury targeting Iran as President Donald Trump surged naval power to pressure Tehran.
  • A mid-March laundry-room fire forced repairs in Crete and Split and displaced about 600 sailors from their bunks until mattresses arrived from the future USS John F. Kennedy.
  • The long tour has strained plumbing and flight-deck gear that need frequent fixes, and coverage notes the Navy’s limited carrier pool even as USS George H. W. Bush moves to relieve the Ford.