U.S.deploys $13 Billion Aircraft Carrier โto Caribbeanโข Amid Escalated Drug Interdiction โขEfforts
CARIBBEAN SEA -โค Theโข U.S. Navy’s newest andโค largest aircraft carrier, the USS โGerald โฃR.Ford, has been deployed to the Caribbean Seaโ under the direction ofโฃ former Presidentโ Donald Trump, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking. The deployment โคcoincides โwith a surge in U.S. military activity in the โregion and the Pacific, resulting in at least ten reported strikes against vessels identified โas belonging โขtoโ drug traffickersโ since the โคbeginning of September, and โleaving at leastโ 43 people dead.
The โ USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered vessel commissioned in 2017 but only participating in real โoperations since 2022, represents a โฃimportant escalation in the U.S. approach to counter-narcotics operations. The Pentagon stated its aim is toโ “consolidate the Unitedโค States’ capacity to detect, โฃmonitor and stop illicitโ actors and activities.” The carrier, โคweighing 100,000 โขtonnes andโ measuring 337 metersโ in length – exceeding the length of theโข Eiffel Tower -โ can accommodate a crew of around 4,500โ and over 70 combat aircraft or helicopters.
The ford-class carrier is the first of a new generation designed to replace the olderโฃ Nimitz-class. Notably, the USS Gerald R. Ford is currentlyโ not equipped to operate the F-35C stealth fighter. The ship’s motto is “Integrity at the โhelm.”
