The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the newest aircraft carrier nuclear power plant of the US Navy, departed on Tuesday (4) for its first operational voyage. The ship left Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia and is leading the Gerald R. Ford Strike Group (GRFCSG) and will operate along the Atlantic Ocean.
While deployed, the GRFCSG will operate with air, sea and land assets from various NATO allies and partner nations to strengthen deterrence and defense efforts and improve effectiveness and interoperability.
Together, the GRFCSG, allies and partner nations will participate in training events including long-range maritime attack, air defense, anti-subsurface warfare and distributed maritime operations.
Already hard at work! ⚓
Ships assigned to the @Warship_78 carrier strike group conduct routine operations in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Ford is on its inaugural deployment conducting training and operations alongside NATO Allies and partners. pic.twitter.com/LDvSYuA8jF
- US Navy (@USNavy) October 12, 2022
The task force is made up of seven other ships. Are they
- USS Normandy (CG 60), Class Missile Cruiser Ticonderoga
- USS Ramage (DDG 61), class destroyer Arleigh Burke
- USS McFaul (DDG 74), class Arleigh Burke
- USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), class Arleigh Burke
- USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188), tanker of the class Henry J. Kaiser
- USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5), class cargo ship lewis and clark
- USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715), Coast Guard cutter (USCG), class Hamilton
Other units include Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON). The CVW-8 is made up of the following squadrons:
- VFA-213 Blacklions, VFA-87 Golden Warriors, VFA-37 Ragin' Bulls and VFA-31 Tomcatters with fighters F / A-18E / F Super Hornet;
- VAQ-142 Gray Wolves, with EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets;
- VAW-124 Bear Aces, with E-2D Advanced Hawkeye radar planes;
- VRC-40 Rawhides, with C-2 Greyhound freighters;
- HSC-9 Tridents and HSM-70 Spartans, with MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters.
Innovation and interoperability are the main focal points of the GRFCSG deployment, allowing allied and partner nations to strengthen the collective defense of the Atlantic, as well as mature integration for future operations.
“It is an exciting time to lead CVW-8 airmen as we embark on the first Ford deployment,” said Captain Daryl Trent, Commanding Carrier Air Wing Eight.
“This group of individuals has worked hard to prepare all aspects of the air wing to integrate with new Ford technologies and they have done so with excellence. It's also fitting that when the USS Nimitz was first deployed in 1976, it was the CVW-8 that went aboard. Now, in 2022, the CVW-8 is again the first air wing to embark on this newest class of aircraft carrier.”
“The USS Gerald R. Ford will sail the high seas with our partners,” said Captain Paul Lanzilotta, commanding the Ford.
#USSGeraldRFord and #NATO allies and #partners teamed up yesterday to conduct a simulated strait transit. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is deployed in the #Atlantic to enhance integration for future operations. @JFCNorfolk @USFleetForces @SpainNATO #Navy pic.twitter.com/WoXDSMlnX0
—USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) (@CVN78_GRFord) October 10, 2022
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“We want interoperability, we want interchangeability with our partners. Our NATO partners who are sailing with us – we are going to work with them every day, every night. This is what it means to operate on the high seas. Air defense exercises. Long range sea attack. We will be doing virtually every mission set that is in the portfolio for naval aviation and we are excited about that.”
Commissioned in July 2017, the CVN-78 is the first aircraft carrier of the Ford Class, replacing the CVN-65 Enterprise, retired in the same year. The Navy plans to build another four Ford Class ships.
One of them, the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), will be the first nuclear aircraft carrier since the USS Enterprise not to be named after a US president, and the first to be named after a black sailor.
Dorris Miller was a cook aboard the battleship West Virginia, sunk by the Japanese during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Amidst the fighting, Dorris helped save several wounded sailors. Even without training, he managed an anti-aircraft machine gun and shot down two Japanese planes. His actions at Pearl Harbor earned him the Navy Cross, making him the first African-American to receive that award.
With information from US Navy
