USS Gerald R. Ford’s Mission to South America (From Bloomberg News)

President Donald J. Trump has called on aircraft carriers again.  This time, the mission is to counter the narco-terrorists backed by Venezuelan gangs.  On Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the aircraft carrier CVN 78, USS Gerald R. Ford, will deploy rapidly from Europe to the Caribbean. 

“It’s another fantastic use of aircraft carriers by President Trump,” was my comment to Joe Mathieu, host of Bloomberg’s Balance of Power.  “That means they can have the most sophisticated aircraft there.  You saw what aircraft carriers participated in hitting the Houthis in the Red Sea. I think Nicolas Maduro needs to be worried.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnel posted to X: “The enhanced U.S. force presence in the USSOUTHCOM AOR will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere. These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs.”

Deploying Ford “greatly extends the options.”  What the Trump administration wants is for the drug boats to stop.  “The Ford is going to give them much greater ability to do overwater surveillance and to intensify attacks, with plenty of shooters in the area,” I told Bloomberg.

“The Ford can strike or carry out presence.  Excellent platform for this,” I said.  Full interview here.

Ford completed a port visit in Split, Croatia, and could arrive in about a week, according to the U.S. Naval Institute’s highly-regarded fleet tracker.

Embarked on Ford is Carrier Airwing 8 with F/A-18EF Superhornets and the E-2D radar surveillance plane for air and sea surface surveillance in all weather.  The E-2D can track multiple targets and link to networked joint force sensors.  It’s a major expansion of the eyes of the fleet and the drug boats will have nowhere to hide.

Ford is America’s newest aircraft carrier, but Ford has already piled up operational and combat experience.  On August 30, 2025, the Ford logged the 30,000^th arrested landing or “trap” when F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 31 and piloted by Lt. Ruben Hays, landed on the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier underway in the Norwegian Sea.  Clearly the Advanced Arresting Gear and the new electromagnetic catapults are working quite well.

Ford also has a number of other new features.  The angled deck is standard, making launch and recovery safer.  Note the island is moved much farther back.  Crews have more room to spot aircraft and maneuver fuel lines and weapons on the deck.  Inside are new nuclear reactors powering the ship.  Steaming 24/7 on nuclear power enables the immediate redeployment from Europe.  Under combat conditions, nuclear power gives carriers ample maneuverability.  It’s the only “airbase” that can maneuver anywhere in a 900-mile area in just 30 minutes and that poses a real tactical problem for any adversaries trying to target a carrier.  Ford’s reactors also generate up to 3 times more electrical power, ample for laser weapons in the near future.