On Sunday, Washington ordered the carrier strike group USS Gerald R. Ford to head to the eastern Mediterranean. The ship, inaugurated in 2022, is the largest warship in the world.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), named after the 38th President of the United States, has set off for the eastern Mediterranean. On Sunday, a day after Hamas attacked Israel, the U.S. Secretary of Defense ordered Hamas to anchor off the Israeli coast. This major step is a warning to countries like Syria or Iran that may be tempted to launch an offensive against Israel to open another front.
This nuclear-powered aircraft carrier doesn’t have too great a distance to reach its target. With his impressive carrier group he was in Turkey in August, then in the Ionian Sea, south of the Adriatic, at the beginning of October. The USS Gerald R. Ford was scheduled to stop in Marseilles for several days.
The USS Gerald R. Ford patch. -US Navy
A $13 billion juggernaut
It is a real mobile military base, able to cope with the most aggressive situations even at distances of several hundred kilometers. The numbers speak for themselves: 112,000 tons, 333 meters long compared to 262 meters for the Charles de Gaulle, the largest aircraft carrier in Europe. It moves at a speed of 30 knots or 55.6 km/h compared to 27 knots (50 km/h) for the Charles de Gaulle.
The US Navy did not save money when building this sea giant. This program was launched in 2008 with a budget of $13 billion. Inaugurated in 2017 by Donald Trump The then president only carried out his first operational deployment a year ago after a delivery delay of two years.
The USS Gerald Ford will be used to “demonstrate its unrivaled lethal capabilities in all areas,” said Admiral Daryl Caudle, Commander of the American Naval Forces, on the occasion of this first deployment.
338 catapults per day
It is almost a floating city with a crew of 4,600 sailors, almost three times the crew of the Charles De Gaulle. It can accommodate 75 fighter aircraft that can take off in record time from a flight deck of 20,000 square meters or 3 football fields.
To take off, the aircraft use a magnetic catapult, which accelerates the aircraft to a speed of 260 km/h. This technology, developed by General Atomics, will equip the new generation aircraft carrier (PA-NG) that will succeed Charles De Gaulle in 2040. The peculiarity of this technology is to carry out 338 catapults every day, both from combat aircraft and the F-35 or light drones.
Like all aircraft carriers, it does not move without a significant armada. He is at the peak of his power. Around 1,500 sailors are distributed across a fleet responsible for their protection: one guided missile cruiser, four destroyers, four frigates and at least one nuclear submarine (SNA).