The US Sixth Fleet stated in a statement on Monday that the US Navy is returning the biggest warship in the world, which was sent to the eastern Mediterranean Sea following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, to the US as it reassesses its needs for a worldwide force.
Following its maiden combat deployment, an eight-month voyage that started on May 2, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will return to its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, the statement stated.
The US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the Ford, was put into service in 2017 and is the flagship of the Navy’s first new carrier class in more than 40 years. A Navy spokesman referred to the Ford as the “most versatile and deadly combat platform in the world.”
The 100,000-ton battleship landed off the coast of Israel in the days after more than 1,200 people were killed in Hamas terror assaults, and it was accompanied by a group of F/A-18 Super Hornet jet fighters.
According to the Sixth Fleet, that maneuver was mandated so that the Ford could support US “regional deterrence and defense posture.”
As tensions rise over Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, the USS Eisenhower is the only US aircraft carrier remaining in the area following the departure of the Ford.
Since October 7, the Houthis have attacked many commercial boats with the justification that they are supporting Hamas in their conflict with Israel.
In their first fatal encounter with Houthi elements over the weekend, US forces—including helicopters operating out of the Eisenhower—sank three Houthi boats that had assaulted a commercial ship and opened fire on the US helicopters attempting to save it.
Three of the four small boats were sunk by the US Navy helicopters, which opened fire in self-defense, killing the crew members. According to a statement from US Central Command, “the fourth boat left the area.”
According to the US Sixth Fleet, the US Navy still has “extensive capability both in the Mediterranean and across the Middle East” despite Ford’s departure.
According to a Sixth Fleet statement, the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, which is capable of carrying Marine Corps F-35 stealth fighters, together with the amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde and the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall, was cooperating in the eastern Mediterranean.
Sixth Fleet said that US guided-missile warships are also present in the area, some of which had shot down Houthi drones and missiles in recent weeks.
Furthermore, the United States has initiated Operation Prosperity Guardian, a marine alliance designed to enhance security measures in the southern Red Sea.
“To improve marine security in the area, we are collaborating with partners and allies.”. According to a statement from Sixth Fleet, “DoD will continue to use its collective force posture in the region to deter any state or non-state actor from escalating this crisis beyond Gaza.”