World’s most powerful warship launches jets off UK coast

The United States Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has launched flight operations off the UK coast during its current European deployment.

Pictured below, Lieutenant Tom Sandford of the carrier’s Air Department signalled the launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet belonging to Strike Fighter Squadron 87 from the ship’s flight deck, according to official U.S. Navy imagery.

Gerald R. Ford is the flagship of Carrier Strike Group Twelve and is operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.

The aircraft launch followed the strike group’s high-profile transit through the Strait of Dover into the North Sea on 17 August, the first time a U.S. carrier strike group has passed through the Channel since the Harry S. Truman group in October 2024.

The strike group consists of Gerald R. Ford alongside the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Bainbridge.

Captain Dave Skarosi, Gerald R. Ford’s commanding officer, described the transit as a demonstration of U.S. naval reach. “Gerald R. Ford’s agile transit through the Strait of Dover between England and France is a testament to our power projection capability that supports peace through strength,” he said. “Our skilled navigation team ensures that the world’s largest aircraft carrier brings our capability as a forward-positioned force anytime, anyplace, to defend the Euro-Atlantic region from hostile action.”

A U.S. Navy statement said the deployment highlights both deterrence and alliance obligations. “The inherent flexibility and scalable maritime force that GRFCSG provides to the NATO Alliance is unrivaled, and their continued operations in the U.S. European Command area of operation reinforces the U.S. Navy’s ironclad commitment to the stability and security of the European theater,” the release noted.

Captain Mark Lawrence, commodore of Destroyer Squadron Two, underscored the wider message. “A free and open maritime domain benefits all nations. Our collective surface force’s transit into the North Sea demonstrates our resolve to strengthen peace, stability, and deterrence across the European continent.”