The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has returned to the United States after completing a historic year-long deployment marked by high-profile military operations, including missions linked to the Iran conflict and the arrest operation targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
According to CNN, the carrier arrived at a naval port in Virginia on Saturday after spending nearly a year at sea. During the deployment, the warship reportedly faced several operational challenges, including a fire in a laundry compartment and recurring plumbing problems.
The USS Gerald R. Ford departed Naval Station Norfolk in June last year and has now completed one of the longest US aircraft carrier deployments since the Vietnam War. The carrier also played a major role in advancing the foreign military objectives of US President Donald Trump.
Families of the sailors gathered at Norfolk to welcome their loved ones home after months of uncertainty as the crew participated in headline-making military operations across different regions.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined the families during the homecoming ceremony. Praising the carrier strike group, he said the accomplishments of the Ford and its accompanying destroyers were “extraordinary and unprecedented.”
The deployment initially took the carrier to the Mediterranean Sea before it was redirected to the Caribbean, where it supported operations involving Venezuela. Later, as tensions with Iran escalated, the vessel moved toward the Middle East.
In the early phase of the Iran conflict, the USS Gerald R. Ford conducted operations in the Mediterranean before crossing the Suez Canal and entering the Red Sea in March. However, after a fire incident onboard, the ship temporarily returned to the Mediterranean for repairs.
By late April, three US aircraft carriers — USS Gerald R. Ford, USS George H. W. Bush, and USS Abraham Lincoln — were simultaneously deployed in the Middle East region for the first time since 2003.
