USS Gerald R. Ford enters Middle East after record 296-day deployment
TDT | agencies
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The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is now operating in the Middle East after spending nearly a month in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a report by Stars and Stripes.
The carrier, accompanied by the destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Mahan, departed the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations late last week, a US official told Stars and Stripes on condition of anonymity.
With more than 4,500 personnel and its embarked Carrier Air Wing 8, the carrier transited the Suez Canal and is currently operating in the Red Sea, according to USNI News, which cited unidentified officials.
The exact timing of the transit was not confirmed, but it places the carrier within the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet area. An open-source intelligence analyst had earlier observed a Boeing P-8 Poseidon flying near the canal, suggesting the movement was imminent.
The carrier strike group, including destroyers and supply ships, was last spotted in the eastern Mediterranean on April 13, likely conducting underway replenishment.
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