Five years after it was commissioned into service, the USS Gerald R. Ford left on its first deployment in the Atlantic region on Tuesday from Norfolk, Virginia.
The US Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier will exercise with allies in North America and Europe in the Atlantic region.
The USS Gerald Ford and the carrier strike group will operate with allies and partners in both the 2nd and 6th fleet areas of responsibility in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea, a US Navy official said. The deployment will be shorter than a standard six-month deployment, the official added.
“This deployment is an opportunity to push the ball further down the field and demonstrate the advantage that Ford and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 bring to the future of naval aviation, to the region, and to our allies and partners,” Carrier Strike Group 12 Commander Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman said in a statement.