WASHINGTON — After being rerouted to support operations in the Middle East against the Iranian regime, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford is expected to remain at sea for 11 months, according to Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby.
While the Navy’s carrier deployments are slated to last seven months, the Ford’s current deployment has been extended and could break previous records set during the Vietnam-era.
“That extension will ultimately be about an 11-month deployment, so there will be an impact on her return and the schedule for her maintenance availability so she’s ready to go again,” Kilby told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. “The good part about our public shipyards is they’re adjusting that schedule, they’re ready to bring back our carrier and maintain her.”
The Ford got underway from Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025 and initially operated in the High North region with NATO allies and in the Eastern Mediterranean. The ship then headed to US Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) area of operations in October as part of the Trump administration’s naval buildup in the region, leading up to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s ouster in January.
The next month President Donald Trump told reporters the Ford would move to support operations in the Middle East — where fellow aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was already operating — amid increased tension between the US and Iran. Both the Ford and the Abraham Lincoln’s carrier strike groups are supporting Operation Epic Fury that kicked off on Saturday. CENTCOM photos from the day Epic Fury began show F/A-18E Super Hornet fighters taking off from the Ford’s flight deck loaded with munitions.
The Ford has been at sea for 253 days so far. Eleven months, roughly 334 days depending on start and end dates, would encroach upon records set during the Vietnam-era, when the carrier USS Midway remained deployed for 332 days and others past 300 days, according to a USNI News carrier database tracking flattop deployments.
Since the Vietnam-era, the carrier Abraham Lincoln holds the record for the longest deployment after 294 days at sea in 2019 and 2020.
Meanwhile, Trump has indicated that Operation Epic Fury could last for weeks, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said today that the US hasn’t struck Iran “hard” just yet. So far, the US has hit more than 1,700 targets in Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported Tuesday.
“We’ve only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy and defeat their capabilities,” Hegseth told reporters today.
Meanwhile, the Navy has sought to offer reassurances that the Ford’s systems are operating “within the expected parameters” for its ship class and with the number of personnel embarked, following multiple media reports about plumbing challenges aboard the ship and the toll of the deployment upon the morale of the crew.
“Long deployments are challenging,” Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, the current commander of the Ford’s carrier strike group and the former commander of the Ford, said in a Navy news release on Thursday.
“Fatigue accumulates and time away from home weighs on Sailors,” Lanzilotta said. “Our responsibility as leaders is to ensure they are supported — with reliable shipboard services, clear communication, and consistent engagement. I have walked the decks of Gerald R. Ford repeatedly during this deployment. What I see is a crew that remains focused, capable, and proud of the work they are doing.”
