USS Gerald R. Ford: State-of-the-art carrier arrives in Piraeus

The US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier ‘USS Gerald R. Ford’ (CVN 78) arrived in Piraeus for a scheduled port visit late Thursday night.

Before arriving at Piraeus, embarked staff from Carrier Strike Group 12 conducted a series of exercises with the Hellenic Navy’s frigates HS Aegean’ and ‘HS Nikiforos Fokas’ as well as submarine ‘HS Katsonis’ “to enhance partner interoperability and demonstrate commitment to security in the Mediterranean,” a Navy statement said.

Piraeus is USS Gerald R. Ford’s third stop while deployed to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR) area of operations and “provides an opportunity to enhance the strong partnership between the US and Greece,” the statement added.

The Gerald R. Ford deployed from Norfolk on May 2. It is the US Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier and its class of aircraft carriers (Ford) has introduced 23 new technologies that operate with a 20% smaller crew than Nimitz-class carriers.

The aircraft carrier is named after the 38th president of the United States (1974-1977), paying tribute to his lifetime of service in the Navy (reaching the rank of lieutenant commander), the US government, and the nation.

Previously, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) paid a port call to Piraeus in February 2023.

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