The port, located in southern Turkey, is the fourth station for the aircraft carrier currently deployed in European waters.
According to the American announcement, the aim of the current visit is to strengthen the partnership between the United States of America and Turkey. Therefore, in the first chapter of the chain of events, the warship conducted a joint military exercise with the Turkish NavyIn which the Turkish Air Force’s F-16 and KC-135 aircraft also played a role.
The appearance of US naval forces around the Turkish coast is nothing new: not long ago, the destroyer USS Mount Whitney ended up in Istanbul, while the missile cruiser USS Normandy ended up in Aksaz. The aircraft carrier has previously appeared in Oslo, Norway, to indicate the American presence in Russia’s neighboring countries.
The USS Gerald R Ford was launched in 2017, making it the world’s largest aircraft carrier, as well as the world’s largest warship.
The warship is more than 300 meters long and has a displacement of 100,000 tons It can accommodate more than 75 aircraft, operates with two nuclear reactors, has a maximum speed of 30 knots (56 kilometers per hour), and employs four and a half thousand soldiers.
One of the biggest differences in the ship is that From former US Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, EMALS, or Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. Outside the United States, this type of technology is used only by China, on the Fujian aircraft carrier.
The cover photo shows the USS Gerald R Ford (below) with the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman (above). Cover Image Source: MCSN Isaac Esposito via Wikimedia Commons
