As part of its deployment under U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), the U.S. Navy has confirmed that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its accompanying Strike Group vessels are now operating in Caribbean waters. The arrival of the Navy’s flagship marks a new phase in the current U.S. campaign aimed at strengthening naval presence in the region to counter Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) based in Central and South America.
The flagship’s arrival follows an order issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on October 24, directing the Carrier Strike Group to leave the Mediterranean and head toward the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility after weeks of mounting tensions in the region. Subsequently, on November 4, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) transited the Strait of Gibraltar, escorted by the Spanish Navy frigate Numancia (F-83), completing its voyage to the Caribbean to formally join ongoing operations.
“The reinforced U.S. military presence within the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility will strengthen the United States’ ability to detect, monitor, and disrupt actors and illicit activities that threaten national security and prosperity, as well as stability in the Western Hemisphere,” stated Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement published on the social network X. “These forces will enhance and expand existing capabilities to disrupt drug trafficking and to weaken and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations,” he added.
The USS Gerald R. Ford joins an ongoing deployment within the area of responsibility that includes the destroyers USS Stockdale (DDG-106) and USS Gravely (DDG-107); the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70); and the amphibious warfare ships USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28), and USS San Antonio (LPD-17), all operating under U.S. Southern Command. Meanwhile, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group is sailing with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
According to available information, the littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS-13), the destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), and the attack submarine USS Newport News (SSN-750) are no longer operating in the SOUTHCOM area.
For its part, the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Strike Group is composed of nine squadrons from Carrier Air Wing Eight, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) and USS Mahan (DDG-72) of Destroyer Squadron Two, and the USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81).
The embarked squadrons aboard the Gerald R. Ford include Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 31, 37, and 87, operating the F/A-18E Super Hornet; VFA 213, flying the F/A-18F Super Hornet; Electronic Attack Squadron 142, with the E/A-18G Growler; Airborne Command and Control Squadron 124, with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye; Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 9, with MH-60S Seahawks; Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70, with MH-60R Seahawks; and a detachment from Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, operating the C-2A Greyhound carrier onboard delivery aircraft.
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