The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and the destroyer USS Mahan on April 11, 2025, conducting operations in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is slated to deploy next week to the 6th Fleet area of operations, moving a third carrier strike group closer to the conflict between Israel and Iran, a U.S. defense official said Wednesday.
The deployment has been scheduled for months, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The 6th Fleet area of operations includes waters surrounding Europe and Africa.
The USS Carl Vinson and its strike group are already operating in the area of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East. The Vinson operated in the Indo-Pacific from November to late March before being ordered to the Middle East.
The USS Nimitz carrier strike group was pulled two days ago from an Indo-Pacific deployment to support U.S. forces in the Middle East amid the ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran. The Nimitz was making its way through the Singapore Strait early Monday, according to a ship spotter in the area who observed the carrier. The strait is a waterway that connects the South China Sea to the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
It is unclear whether the U.S. will keep three carrier strike groups in close proximity to the Israel-Iran conflict.
The move comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing possible military options to President Donald Trump, who is considering whether to join Israel’s bombing campaign of Iran’s nuclear program.
The Defense Department has also sent dozens of refueling aircraft to Europe to position them to respond to the conflict and dispatched at least two Navy destroyers to the Middle East.
The Ford will depart from its homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va. The strike group includes the USS Winston Churchill from Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and the USS Mitscher, USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge and USS Forrest Sherman, all from the Virginia installation. Aboard the ships will be an air wing made up of nine aviation squadrons, including four F-18 fighter jet squadrons and one electronic attack Growler squadron.
The defense official was unable to say whether the Ford is bound for the Middle East, but Navy leaders in March said the ship was ready in the event it is directed to the conflict-riddled region.
The strike group’s Arleigh Burke-class, guided-missile destroyers will deploy with the Coyote and Roadrunner systems, two interceptor-style drone systems designed to stop other drones before they reach their intended targets. The new weapons are intended to counter Houthi drones for a fraction of the price of a standard missile typically used by the sea service, Navy officials have said.
