The US is deploying the world’s largest warship towards the Caribbean, marking a major escalation in its military build-up in the region.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, which can carry up to 90 aircraft, to move from the Mediterranean on Friday.
The US has been increasing its military presence in the Caribbean in recent weeks, sending other warships, a nuclear submarine as well as F-35 aircraft in what it says is a campaign to target drug traffickers.
About $50 million dollars US. That is kind of deceptive, though. The USS Ford costs about 7 million a day to operate, but this is a continuing cost, as she is on current active deployment, that cost is there, no matter the zone of responsibility. A carrier also does not travel alone, but with a strike group. This varries according to mission, but she will probably transit with at least three Arleigh Burke destroyers and likely a nuke powered Ticonderoga Cruiser and Virginia class submarine. The tender and replenishment ships will probably stay with The 6th fleet, based in Italy. It will also be likely that another carrier and replacement ships will fill in at 6th fleet for the Ford strike group. A good guess is that this whole thing will cost upwards of $75 million a week, depending on work load and ammunition expenditures.
Like you said, if if wasn’t here, it’d be sailing around somewhere else. They spend time doing patrols and exercises. If the Navy only left port in the event of actual war, they’d be severely inexperienced and untested, which would be an even bigger waste of money.