The United States sent the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the largest in the world in the Caribbean Sea, to the Middle East as a way to confront increased tension with Iran.
Since the beginning of the year, this aircraft carrier has been in an escort operation for Venezuelan ships, but now it will deploy its capacity to 75 planes and around 4500 operational in one of the highest tension areas in the world. The Gerald R. Ford is 334 meters long and allows it to carry out up to 160 missions per day, 40 more than other aircraft carriers in the North American fleet.
“If we don’t reach an agreement, we will need it… if we need it, it will be ready”, explained Donald Trump, President of the USA, this Friday, February 13, about this mission, showing himself confident that the negotiations with Iran will be successful, but warned: “If they are not, it will be a bad day for Iran.”
One of the vessel’s officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, revealed that the aircraft carrier will take at least a week to reach the Middle East, where it will join the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, several missile warships, fighter jets and surveillance planes, which have been deployed to that region in recent weeks.
The United States last had two aircraft carriers in that region of the world in June, at the time of attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
In a statement, the US Southern Command, which oversees US military operations in Latin America, revealed that it will remain active in combating “illicit activities and malicious actors in the Western Hemisphere”.
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