The USS Gerald R Ford successfully completes a Full Ship Shock Trial in the Atlantic in 2021<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has claimed that American naval forces successfully intercepted large-scale missile attacks launched by Iran targeting the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.<\/strong><\/p>\n According to Trump, Iran fired 101 missiles at the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, but he asserted that \u201cevery single one was knocked down on the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n Continues \u2026<\/a><\/p>\n Given that the USS Gerald R Ford withdrew from frontline combat due to \u201cmaintenance issues\u201d you really have to wonder if all the missiles were intercepted, as Trump claims?<\/p>\n The carrier just entered service but it now faces more than a year in port deaing with “maintenance issues”? Really?<\/p>\n Could it be that USS Gerald R Ford’s problems were caused by Iranian missile strikes? Ed.<\/p>\n Writing for the 19FortyFive<\/em> news outlet on Sunday, defense analyst Jack Buckby warned that the USS Gerald R. Ford could face an extended period out of service following a March 12 fire and the cumulative strain of a prolonged deployment.<\/p>\n The first-in-class Ford carrier has been withdrawn from active operations and is currently stationed at Souda Bay in Crete<\/a>, after months of sustained combat activity in the Red Sea and surrounding region. The vessel had spent roughly nine months at sea, supporting intensive US operations, including thousands of strikes linked to the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n The immediate cause of its withdrawal was, according to the US, a fire that broke out in the ship\u2019s main laundry area<\/a>.<\/p>\n The incident damaged adjacent compartments, including living quarters, displacing around 100 berths, while other reports suggest the destruction of hundreds of sleeping spaces. Nearly 200 sailors were treated for smoke exposure, with at least one requiring evacuation. While propulsion systems remained unaffected, the scale of the damage prompted a broader reassessment of the ship\u2019s overall condition.<\/p>\n According to Buckby, however, the fire itself is only part of the issue. The carrier had already accumulated what he described as a significant backlog of deferred maintenance<\/a>, the result of operating for an extended period under high-intensity conditions without the opportunity for full servicing.<\/p>\n This so-called \u201cmaintenance debt\u201d includes ongoing concerns with key onboard systems, particularly the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG). These technologies, central to the Ford-class design, are intended to improve efficiency and sortie generation but have presented reliability challenges since the ship entered service.<\/p>\n Commissioned in 2017, the USS Gerald R. Ford is designed to replace the Nimitz-class and represented a major shift in US naval aviation.<\/p>\n The ship\u2019s recent deployment is considered among the most demanding in modern US Navy operations. In addition to extended time at sea, the carrier operated under sustained operational pressure, integrating with other US air assets in a high-threat environment. The prolonged tempo has accelerated wear across both mechanical systems and crew capacity, with reports pointing to deteriorating onboard conditions, including earlier system failures and strain on basic infrastructure.<\/p>\n US officials have indicated that the stop in Crete is intended not only for repairs but also to provide relief for the crew, who have endured months of continuous deployment under increasingly difficult conditions.<\/p>\n Amid these developments, Iran\u2019s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters<\/a> issued a statement on March 13 claiming that the fire aboard the carrier had been deliberately set by US personnel. The statement said that the incident reflected fear and pressure among the crew during the ongoing confrontation.<\/p>\nAl Jazeera \u2013 March 22, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Strained supercarrier deployment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Prolonged carrier downtime<\/strong><\/h2>\n