USS Gerald R. Ford Sustains 30-Hour Onboard Fire — Heading for Repairs

The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the primary US carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean, sustained a serious 30-hour onboard fire and has been ordered to depart the theater for emergency repairs at a NATO facility. The cause of the fire has not been officially confirmed — the Navy cited an 'internal mechanical incident' while Iran's media claimed it was struck by an IRGC missile. The Ford's departure temporarily reduces US carrier aviation capability in the theater to a single carrier (USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea) until the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) completes its pre-deployment certification. No US sailor deaths from the fire were confirmed by the Navy.