Sam LaGrone

4 days ago | news.usni.org | Sam LaGrone

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — Families waving signs and banners watched a quartet of tugs push the world’s largest warship off the pier and on to its second deployment. The 100,000-ton aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) cut through the thick Virginia haze on the James River as crew members in whites poured sweat while manning the rails in record-breaking heat. A total of 4,500 sailors will deploy with the strike group, according to U.S. 2nd Fleet.

5 days ago | news.usni.org | Sam LaGrone

Five admirals have been nominated for a third star, including new fleet commanders for naval forces in the Western Pacific and the Middle East, the Pentagon announced last week. Current U.S. 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher has been nominated for a reappointment as vice admiral and to serve as the director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. Rear Adm.

1 week ago | news.usni.org | Heather Mongilio |Sam LaGrone

The U.S. struck three nuclear sites in Iran, President Donald Trump said on social media late Saturday. U.S. forces struck sites Natanz, Isfahan and the Fordo uranium enrichment facility. “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said in an address at the White House.

1 week ago | news.usni.org | Sam LaGrone

The U.S. has positioned five ballistic missile defense-capable guided-missile destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea as Iranian forces launch salvos of ballistic missiles against Israel, a defense official confirmed to USNI News. Two guided-missile destroyers, based in Rota, Spain — USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-177) and USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) — entered the Mediterranean, joining three other BMD-capable destroyers in the region, the defense official said.

1 week ago | news.usni.org | Heather Mongilio |Sam LaGrone

When aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) chops into U.S. Central Command in the coming days, it will be the fifth carrier to operate in the Middle East since the U.S. resumed deployments to the region in late 2023. U.S. Central Command deployments accounted for 41 percent of carrier steaming days last year, up from just 8 percent the year before as demands for carrier strike groups increased following the Oct.