USS Gerald R. Ford Returns to Norfolk After Record 326-Day Deployment

The USS Gerald R. Ford is expected to arrive at Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday, May 16, 2026, after a record 326-day deployment that began when the supercarrier departed Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025. This marks the longest deployment of a United States Navy aircraft carrier since the Vietnam War and the longest ever for a nuclear-powered flattop.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. ” Caudle told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee the same day that the USS Gerald R. Ford is an extraordinary ship with an extraordinary crew and strike group.

The arrival follows the return of Carrier Air Wing 8 to Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana on Monday. While embarked, CVW-8 conducted more than 11,800 launches from the carrier.

Its six fighter squadrons logged more than 5,500 flight hours in support of Operation Epic Fury, which took place in the Middle East this winter and spring. This was the second full deployment of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).

It greatly exceeded the 239 days the carrier spent at sea during its 2023-2024 deployment, which was extended twice in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), USS Mahan (DDG-72), and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) spent nearly 11 months deployed with the Gerald R.

CSG-12 was commanded by Rear Adm. Gavin Duff. U.S. 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Fleets.

When the USS Gerald R. Ford departed Norfolk under the command of Capt. Dave Skarosi, it first operated in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, and the High North Region with NATO forces last fall. The carrier was in port in Split, Croatia, in October 2025 when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered it to the Caribbean to support Operation Southern Spear.

That operation enforced a blockade of oil tankers connected to Venezuela. The USS Gerald R. Ford was among the warships operating in the Caribbean region during Operation Absolute Resolve in early January 2026.

U.S. military action resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas. In February 2026, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford back to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) had departed Naval Air Station North Island in November 2025 for what was expected to be an Indo-Pacific deployment. In January 2026, it was redirected from the South China Sea to the Arabian Sea.

The two carriers supported Operation Epic Fury until mid-March 2026, when a fire broke out on the USS Gerald R. Ford. The blaze took nearly 30 hours to contain and affected the berths of more than 100 crew members.

The warship returned to Crete and then to Split for repairs before heading back to the Red Sea. U.S. Navy maintained two carriers in the region despite the incident.

Bush (CVN-77) completed its Composite Training Unit Exercise at the end of March 2026. It arrived in the Middle East in mid-April 2026 after sailing around Africa. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) completed its Planned Incremental Availability last month and is expected to begin its next mission early in the summer of 2026.

The USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is scheduled to be decommissioned in March 2027. With only 11 operational supercarriers and nearly half currently in maintenance, such extended deployments have become necessary even as Navy officials note the strain on crews and ships.

The USS Gerald R. Ford’s return on Saturday will end its second full deployment after operations that spanned the High North, Caribbean and Red Sea.