The world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) transits the Mediterranean Sea, Aug. 21, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins)
BEIRUT — As the war in Gaza approaches its third month, the US Navy said it is sending the USS Gerald Ford Strike Group back home from the Mediterranean soon.
“In the coming days, the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group will redeploy to its home port as scheduled to prepare for future deployments,” the Navy’s 6th Fleet said in a statement Monday. “The Department of Defense continually evaluates force posture globally and will retain extensive capability both in the Mediterranean and across the Middle East.”
The Ford had been ordered to the Mediterranean in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel so that the aircraft carrier and its sister ships could “contribute to our regional deterrence and defense posture,” the Navy said. Since the war’s outset, Washington has been keen to dissuade Iran and its proxies from opening up another full front, mostly with success.
The Navy said the strike group rotates out as other warships have been deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, including the Wasp-class amphibious ship USS Bataan and the Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Carter Hall.
The Ford’s return stateside didn’t come as a surprise to Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, who suggested Washington’s fears of the Gaza conflict spiraling in the region had cooled, at least somewhat.
“The Ford’s deployment had already been extended once. The Navy does not like to extend deployments too much because of fatigue on the crews,” he said. “Although there is still a risk of escalation, that risk seems less pressing since the war is nearly three months old and has not spread into Lebanon beyond continuous low-level skirmishing.” (Cancian spoke to Breaking Defense before news came today that a senior Hamas leader reportedly had been killed in a Beirut suburb, sparking new fears the conflict could spread into Lebanon.)
Cancian said US posture in the Mediterranean will be different without the Ford.
“The Ford is an aircraft carrier with a wide variety of capabilities including attack aircraft. The Bataan is a helicopter carrier. Although it can carry a few attack aircraft, that is not the case with the current deployment. Its main purpose is to carry Marines and to deliver them ashore,” he said.
The USS Gerald Ford strike group leaving the Mediterranean includes eight squadrons of attack and support aircraft, as well as guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS Carney (DDG 64), and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), according to the Pentagon. The Carney, whose sailors were recently recognized for shooting down several suspected Houthi drones, remains in the US 5th fleet’s area of operations.
Today, VADM Cooper visited the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) & presented combat medals to Sailors for their exceptional performance. He also recognized the whole crew with the Combat Action Ribbon. On Dec. 16, Carney Sailors shot down 14 Houthi UAVs in the Red Sea. pic.twitter.com/LFTqp36nnB
— U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 2, 2024
The US naval presence in the region is not restricted to the Gerald Ford Strike Group. The USS Dwight Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has been patrolling the Red Sea, where US forces recently killed Houthi rebels that the US said had attacked a cargo ship. In mid-December, the US announced the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multi-national effort to protect shipping in the Red Sea.
Not to be left out, Iran recently announced it had sent a warship, the Albroz, to the Red Sea, though Cancian appeared less impressed with Tehran’s move.
“The move is politically symbolic, showing that Iran supports its Houthi clients and that it is an important regional player,” he said. “Militarily, it is irrelevant.”
This report was updated 1/3/2024 at 4:55am ET to clarify the USS Carney is still in theater.