He USS Gerald R. Fordpresented by USA as the most modern, largest and most powerful aircraft carrier in the worldended its mission in the war against Iran and remains in Greece to be repaired. After being sent to Middle East as key piece of the US military offensive and deterrencethe ship had to leave the combat zone after a fire which the authorities assure had nothing to do with an enemy attack. Does what happened hit the image of the aircraft carrier as a decisive and invulnerable weapon?
He nuclear powered aircraft carrierwhich was in his tenth month of deploymentarrived on Monday at US base at Soudaon the Greek island of Cretewhich is the only one in the region with the capacity to accommodate this type of military vessels.
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The Central Command of the Naval Forces of USA had reported on his official X account that On March 12, the aircraft carrier suffered a fire in its main laundry. He added that two sailors were treated for “non-life-threatening injuries.”
The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, arrives at Souda Bay Naval Base after participating in military operations in the Middle East, March 23, 2026. (Photo by Costas METAXAKIS / AFP).
/ COSTAS METAXAKIS
According to a report in The New York Times, It took sailors more than 30 hours to put out the fire.
The incident left more than 600 sailors and crew members without their bedsand since then they had to sleep on the floor and on tables, the NYT reported.
Besides, Nearly 200 seafarers received medical treatment for smoke inhalation.
Two US officials told that newspaper that The fire started in the ventilation duct of a dryer in the laundry room carrier’s main body and spread rapidly.
According to the United States public broadcasting service NPR, before the fire the USS Gerald R. Ford I had already been suffering plumbing problems in its 650 toilets. The toilet system, which is undersized and poorly designed, frequently breaks down.
NPR cited a March 18, 2025, email from the engineering department, sent to all managers on the ship, stating that There had been 205 breakdowns in the toilet system in just four days.
In October of last year, the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth ordered that the USS Gerald R. Ford moved from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, to form part of the American fleet that surrounded Venezuela to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was finally arrested and taken out of his country on January 3 by US special forces.
After that mission, the aircraft carrierwith their 4,500 crewheaded to the Middle East to participate in the war of the United States and Israel against Iran, started on February 28.
A tugboat escorts the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, upon arrival at the Souda Bay Naval Base, March 23, 2026. (Photo by Costas METAXAKIS / AFP).
/ COSTAS METAXAKIS
The Reuters agency indicated that the ship provided support for more than 7,000 attacks against targets linked to Iran. This combat rhythm, with uninterrupted aircraft launches and in a high threat environment, accelerated the wear of its most critical components.
According to Reuters, once in Greece he USS Gerald R. Ford now faces the possibility of a forced withdrawal that could last between 12 and 14 months.
He added that defense sources indicated that flagship requires large-scale structural and technical repairs after the fire and after the exhaustion of its mechanical systems due to constant use in the war zone.
The aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford. (AFP).
He USS Gerald R. Ford officially operates in the United States Navy since July 22, 2017date on which he was commissioned and formally entered active service.
This would not be the first time that it has undergone maintenance work or technical corrections, because from its first years it has had adjustments and set-up problems typical of a new class; However, if the scenario reported by Reuters is confirmed, it would be one of your longest and most sensitive periods of inactivityespecially for occurring after a combat mission and in the middle of a war.
The USS Gerald R. Ford cost around $13.3 billion to buildmaking it one of the most expensive warships ever made.
He did not fall due to enemy fire, but due to attrition
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the largest aircraft carrier in the world sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar on October 1, 2025. (EFE/Alyssa Joy/United States Navy).
For Andrés Gómez de la Torrespecialist in defense and intelligence issues, the USS Gerald R. Ford maintains an exceptional strategic weight for being the largest aircraft carrier in the worldof nuclear propulsion and with the capacity to ship around 75 aircraftincluding cutting-edge fighters such as the F-35 Lightning II and the F/A-18 Super Hornetcenterpieces of United States combat aviation.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, assigned to the United States Strike Fighter Squadron 37, approaching a catapult for takeoff from the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. (AFP).
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As explained to The Commercethe true value of the ship lies in that it functions as a platform capable of concentrating and projecting Washington’s most advanced air-naval power in different theaters of operations, from the Caribbean to the Red Sea.
The analyst highlighted that the temporary departure of Gerald R. Ford should not be read as a sign of vulnerability to missiles, drones or war of attrition, but rather as the result of accumulated wear and tear from prolonged and intensive use.
He ruled out that he had been hit by Iranian fire as he stressed that It has its own great anti-aircraft and anti-missile capabilities..
In his opinion, the fire on board would not have been catastrophic, but it would have been enough to slow down operations and force maintenance tasks after months of continuous deployment.
Along these lines, Gómez de la Torre warned that the absence of the aircraft carrier can slow down certain US military operationsespecially those linked to the front against Iran, because it forces us to review the operational scheme without one of the most important assets of the force deployed in the area.
That departure, he added, could also have effects on the broader board of the region, at a time when Washington is closely monitoring the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Strengths and weaknesses of an aircraft carrier
The US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (left) and its strike group transit the Strait of Hormuz on November 19, 2019. (AFP).
/ ZACHARY PEARSON
The aircraft carrier is considered one of the most strategic weapons in modern warfare. Its great value is that it works as a mobile air base which allows you to launch fighters, has surveillance systems, carries out electronic warfare and with it you can attack without depending on airfields on the ground.
That gives the country that has a aircraft carrier reach, political pressure, deterrence power and the ability to respond quickly in remote areas.
The ship projects power over long distances, accompanies naval and land operations, protects sea routes and is capable of sustaining its presence for weeks or months.
Furthermore, it does not operate alone: It is accompanied by destroyers, cruisers, submarines and logistics vesselsforming a combat group that multiplies its strength.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet and sailors on the flight deck of the USS Gerald R Ford in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the US, on October 5, 2022. (Photo by Samuel Corum / AFP).
/ SAMUEL CORUM
However, an aircraft carrier also has weaknesses. It is a huge target, very expensive to operate and dependent on its entire escort. Today, it faces more serious threats than before, such as long-range anti-ship missiles, submarines, aerial and underwater drones, swarm attacks, and electronic warfare.
If the enemy has good military capabilities, an aircraft carrier may be forced to operate from afarwhich reduces part of its effectiveness.
