U.S. deploys second aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to Middle East amid tensions with Iran.

The United States will redeploy the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East, establishing two US carrier strike groups in the US Central Command area of responsibility, following the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln in January 2026.

On February 13, 2026, the New York Times confirmed that the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will be redeployed from Venezuela to the Middle East, becoming the second U.S. aircraft carrier assigned to the region in nearly a year, replacing earlier expectations that the USS George H.W. Bush would take that role. Joining the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf, the reassignment also extends the carrier deployment and delays its return to Norfolk until late April or early May 2026.
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The USS Gerald R. Ford will extend its deployment, started in June 2025, and operate alongside USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, marking the first dual-carrier presence in the CENTCOM area in nearly a year. (Picture source: US Navy)

The Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships are now scheduled to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf, extending a deployment that began on June 24, 2025, when the ship left Norfolk, Virginia. The crew was informed of the decision on February 12, 2026, meaning that the Ford is not expected to return to its home port until late April or early May 2026, instead of the previously anticipated early March return. The reassignment follows President Donald Trump’s indication earlier in the week that a second carrier would be sent as part of a pressure campaign directed at Iran’s leadership. The change in deployment plans comes after days in which the USS George H.W. Bush, a Nimitz-class carrier, had been considered the most likely candidate for reinforcement.

The decision results in two U.S. carrier strike groups operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility for the first time in nearly a year. The USS Abraham Lincoln has been operating in the region since January 26, 2026, after departing San Diego in November 2025 and transiting through Guam and the South China Sea before entering Middle Eastern waters. The Lincoln, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier capable of speeds exceeding 56 km/h, operates with Carrier Air Wing 9, which includes F-35Cs, F/A-18Es, F/A-18F Super Hornets, and EA-18G Growler jets, E-2D Hawkeyes, as well as MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters. Its strike group includes Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., USS Spruance, and USS Michael Murphy, each equipped to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles and providing ballistic missile defense.

On February 3, 2026, a Marine Corps F-35C from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone after it approached Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. The same day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boats attempted to stop and seize the U.S.-flagged tanker MT Stena Imperative in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting USS McFaul to escort the vessel while U.S. Air Force aircraft provided defensive support. This 2026 US military buildup in the Middle East unfolded following Operation Midnight Hammer, during which U.S. forces struck Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran subsequently launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, with no casualties reported.

In February 2026, Iranian authorities publicly stated that some of the bombs did not explode and remained at nuclear facilities, complicating inspection efforts. Prior to those strikes, two carrier strike groups led by USS Carl Vinson and USS Nimitz had been positioned in the Arabian Sea. Additional U.S. naval forces currently operating in or near the broader region include USS McFaul and USS Mitscher in the Strait of Hormuz, USS Delbert D. Black in the Red Sea, USS Roosevelt and USS Bulkeley in the Mediterranean, and littoral combat ships USS Canberra, USS Tulsa, and USS Santa Barbara in the Persian Gulf. More than 30,000 U.S. service members are stationed across Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates, with Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems repositioned to counter Iran's ballistic missile and drone threats.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world's largest aircraft carrier, with a full load displacement of about 100,000 tonnes, a length of 337 meters, a waterline beam of 41 meters, and a flight deck beam of 78 meters. As the lead ship of the Ford class, it is powered by two Bechtel A1B nuclear reactors using highly enriched uranium and driving four shafts, enabling speeds in excess of 30 knots, which is more than 56 km/h, and a design range of about 25 years before mid-life refueling. The carrier has 25 decks and a complement of 4,539 personnel, including the air wing, and it is designed to operate more than 75 aircraft. Its sensors include the AN/SPY-3 Multi Function Radar in the X band and the AN/SPY-4 Volume Search Radar in the S band, integrated with the Ship Self Defense System Mk2 Baseline 10 Mod 6.

The defensive armament includes two RIM-162 ESSM launchers, two RIM-116 RAM systems, three Phalanx CIWS mounts, four Mk 38 25 mm gun systems, and four 12.7 mm machine guns. The flight deck measures 333 by 78 meters and incorporates the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) instead of steam catapults, increasing sortie generation and reducing crew requirements compared to the Nimitz class. The carrier’s construction cost reached $12.8 billion plus $4.7 billion in research and development, making it one of the most expensive warships ever built, and it replaced the decommissioned USS Enterprise after 51 years of service. During testing, challenges were identified with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, Advanced Arresting Gear, and weapons elevators, leading to additional corrective work before and after commissioning.

In June 2021, the Gerald R. Ford completed full ship shock trials off Florida, during which 40,000 pounds of TNT were detonated underwater in a series of tests to evaluate survivability, and the carrier continued operations afterward. In September 2022, senior naval leadership stated that the ship had met its initial operating capability. The Ford’s current redeployment delays a planned dry dock period in Virginia that was scheduled for major upgrades and repairs, adding pressure to maintenance planning and fleet availability cycles. The extension follows a deployment that had already been lengthened once, increasing time away from home port beyond initial expectations. Since 2022, the Ford has conducted multiple deployments and exercises across the Atlantic and European theaters before shifting to the Caribbean in late 2025.

In October 2022, it departed Norfolk for Task Force Exercise operations alongside NATO allies and partners, including activity with Carrier Strike Group 12 and port visits such as Halifax, Nova Scotia, before returning to Norfolk in November 2022. On May 3, 2023, it began its first full-length deployment to U.S. 2nd and 6th Fleet areas, operating near Norway, entering the Mediterranean, and later moving to the eastern Mediterranean after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, while some escorts conducted missile and drone interceptions in the Red Sea. In 2025, the carrier again deployed from Norfolk on June 24, transited the Strait of Gibraltar, operated in the Mediterranean and North Sea, and later entered the Caribbean on October 24 as part of Operation Southern Spear, marking one of the largest U.S. military buildups in the Caribbean in decades. During that phase, the Ford’s warplanes participated in the January 3, 2026, operation in Caracas that captured President Nicolás Maduro, and the strike group was involved in tanker seizures and enforcement measures in Venezuelan waters.

Diplomatic engagement has continued in parallel with the military repositioning, including indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian representatives held on February 6, 2026, in Muscat, Oman, mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. The United States has demanded that Iran surrender its remaining 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, limit enrichment below 60 percent purity, halt nuclear weapons development, restrict its ballistic missile program, and end support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Iran has stated that its missile program is non-negotiable and that it retains the right to uranium enrichment, while expressing conditional openness to negotiations tied to sanctions relief. President Trump has stated that he prefers a negotiated agreement but indicated that failure of talks could result in military action, leaving the deployment of the second carrier as both a reinforcement measure and a potential contingency tool.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.