The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, will be redeployed from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East, placing a second U.S. carrier strike group in the region as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Iran, four U.S. officials said Friday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the decision publicly.
The Ford will join the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf, significantly expanding the American naval presence near Iran. The Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
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Aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford
(Photo: Nolan Pennington / US Department of Defense / AFP)
The move follows Trump’s remarks earlier this week that he was considering sending a second carrier to the region as part of a broader effort to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program and regional activities.
The Ford strike group’s deployment began June 24, 2025, when it left Norfolk, Virginia, on what was initially planned as a European cruise. The mission was later redirected to the Caribbean as part of the administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuela. The carrier’s aircraft participated in the Jan. 3 operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, officials said. The deployment has already been extended once, and sailors had expected to return home in early March.
Under the new orders, the Ford and its escort ships are not expected to return to their home port until late April or early May, further delaying the carrier’s scheduled dry dock maintenance in Virginia, where significant upgrades and repairs had been planned. It remains unclear how long the Ford will remain in the Middle East. The reassignment extends what has already been an unusually long deployment and signals a sharper U.S. military focus on the Persian Gulf.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.