USS Gerald R. Ford likely to deploy off Israel’s coast – report

The aircraft carrier is expected to reach the Mediterranean in the coming days and may initially deploy off Israel’s coast to help defend Tel Aviv.

By World Israel News Staff

Significant movements of U.S. transport aircraft and aerial refueling planes have been recorded recently as the carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, approached the Strait of Gibraltar and is now operating off the coast of Morocco while heading east.

According to a New York Times report, the aircraft carrier is expected to reach the Mediterranean Sea in the coming days and may initially deploy off Israel’s coast to help defend Tel Aviv and other cities in the event of regional escalation.

U.S. military officials said the deployment places a range of Iranian targets within operational reach, including missile systems, weapons stockpiles, nuclear facilities, and Revolutionary Guard command centers.

The Ford, the largest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world, is sailing with three escorting destroyers as part of a significant expansion of the American military presence in the region.

Last week, it was announced that the carrier is expected to join the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group, which arrived in the region late last month, potentially placing two U.S. carrier strike groups in the Middle East at the same time.

According to an Israeli source, preparations are elevated amid the possibility of a U.S. strike in the near future, though no final decision has been made by President Donald Trump.

Israel and the United States are maintaining close coordination as Washington continues deploying additional military assets toward Iran, including placing B-2 bombers on higher alert and transferring dozens of F-35s, F-22s and F-16s from the United States through Europe to the Middle East.

American officials said the carrier could reach the region as early as the beginning of next week, earlier than previously expected, as part of one of the most significant U.S. force buildups in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War.