The American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is expected in Souda today 22nd February amid rumours of an imminent American attack on Iran. An article in Saturday’s Haniotika Nea describes local reactions to its presence, and considers the capacities of what is generally accepted to be the largest and most technically advanced warship currently in service anywhere in the world.
The aircraft carrier will tie up at quay K-14 at the Souda Naval Base at Marathi, where it is expected to remain for four days for resupply and R&R for the crew. The arrival has provoked reactions from anti-war organisations on the island. The Pancretan Committee Against the Bases and Military Involvement, along with other local organisations, has called for a demonstration on Tuesday 24th February at 18.00 at the Agora in Chania. “They’re not wanted in Chania! We won’t allow them to turn Souda into base of operations against other peoples,” the announcement says. adding: “The Souda base is once more being called upon to play the role jointly decided by the US and the Greek government along with their fellow travellers in the coming apocalypse.”
The flagship of the US Navy
The biggest and most technologically advanced warship in service in the world, the USS Gerald R. Ford is no stranger to Souda, having last moored there on 26th December 2023. The nuclear powered aircraft carrier took its name from the 38th US President Gerald R. Ford, who served in the US Navy during the 2nd World War. The ship entered service in 2017, replacing the older USS Enterprise, and as of 2026 it is considered the biggest and most powerful aircraft carrier ever to have been built.
With a length of 337 metres and a displacement of 100,000 tons, the Gerald R. Ford is bigger than the previous Nimitz class aircraft carriers, carrying a full complement of 75 aircraft. The nuclear propulsion system enables it to sail at a speed of over 30 knots (55 km/h) and to stay at sea for very long periods without refuelling, offering great operational autonomy. In essence a ship of this kind operates as a floating aeronautical and military hub, the ability of aircraft such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-35C to take off from and land directly on the deck offering the American military leadership the capacity to react quickly to critical situations in any part of the world.
On course for the Middle East
As reported on Skai.gr, on leaving Souda the aircraft carrier will need about a day to reach Israel and to join the defensive array of the Americans and Tel Aviv. According to the report, “the possibility of a US attack on Iran within 10 days is now the top item on the global agenda, with analysts theorising that the warnings of Donald Trump are a real and actual indication of his intentions.
“At all events, the concentration of American forces in the area is so great that few people now hope that the impending hostilities can be headed off by diplomacy. Greece is included in this agenda, since its geopolitical situation is such that it cannot be ignored, especially from the moment where it is an allied power of the USA.”
(Haniotika Nea, 21/02/26, www.skai.gr)
Movements of the aircraft carrier
The Gerald R. Ford has crossed the Atlantic, having being formerly deployed to the Caribbean to take part in the operations against Venezuela. It was seen transiting the Straits of Gibraltar at around 1.00 pm local time on Friday 20th February and is expected in Souda some time on Sunday 22nd February. Ex-Royal Navy officer Tom Sharpe writing in The Telegraph suggested that it would take the aircraft carrier several days to reach the Eastern Mediterranean along with its destroyer escorts:
“She will probably continue east at around 18 knots: on her own she could go much faster but her escorts would burn fuel very fast keeping up with her. There’s also some nasty weather and big waves in the western Med at the moment. If the escorts have to punch into that at speed they will break kit and people. Leaving the escorts behind isn’t likely when heading into a potential shooting war – they provide vital protection for the carrier.” In fact, arriving on Sunday it will have covered 2,500 km in some 48 hours, suggesting a speed of 50 km/h, somewhere near the ship’s maximum – no doubt the US leadership considered that the situation in the Middle East justified a degree of urgency,
According to the military news site The War Zone (www.twz.com) the Gerald R. Ford left the US naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, last June for the Mediterranean, but was later dispatched to the Caribbean in October by President Donald Trump to take part in the mission that ultimately resulted in the capture of the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. In January the US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle expressed concern about the ship’s extended deployment, which could result in major repercussions on maintenance schedules and strain on the crew.
That being the case, the four-day respite at Souda will no doubt be a welcome break. The period coincides with the holiday of Kathara Deftera (Clean Monday) on 23rd February, and as reported in Haniotika Nea, there have been negotiations with local business owners to make sure that crew members venturing into the city centre do not find everything closed.
Following that, the ship will need another day to cover the 1,000-odd km to the coast of Israel, to bolster the US naval forces, currently concentrated in the Arabian Sea, so it will not be in position until the end of the coming week. ( www.twz.com)