US Sends Largest Aircraft Carrier: Threatening Gesture Against Kremlin?

A ship as big as a city. USS Gerald Ford arrives in Norway. As a sign of solidarity, America pledges. Russia sees it differently.

The USS Gerald Ford is the world’s largest warship. It is the US Navy’s first new aircraft carrier in 40 years. Named after the 38th US President, it serves as a floating fortress for the US Armed Forces. On Wednesday, on its second international voyage, it arrived in Oslo and anchored in a fjord off the Norwegian capital.

Many onlookers witnessed the 337 meter long ship enter the port. According to the Norwegian military, the visit is aimed at expanding military cooperation with the United States. Several joint exercises are planned in the coming days.

“This is a clear sign of the security guarantees we have received from NATO and the close partnership with the United States,” Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gramm said upon the ship’s arrival. “It’s about Norway’s security.”

Norway shares a nearly 200-kilometer border with Russia to the north. It is the home of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine a year ago, many neighboring countries have felt threatened by the Russian Federation and its autocratic ruler Vladimir Putin. In reaction to the Kremlin’s imperialist behavior, Finland and Sweden have asked to be admitted to NATO. Formerly neutral Finland is now a NATO member.

A U.S. Navy spokesman said the ship’s visit to Norway will help cement strategic partnerships in Europe and “ensure a secure and stable North Atlantic and Arctic region.” Commander of US Carrier Strike Group 12, Eric J. According to Eslich, the rest of the world benefits as well.

Russia sees it differently. “There is no problem in the region that requires a military solution or external intervention,” said Timur Cheganov, a representative of the Russian embassy in Norway. “Considering that Norway admits that Russia does not pose a direct threat to the country, such threatening gestures are meaningless. In fact they are harmful.”

A nuclear powered ship is huge. At 337 meters long and 76 meters high, the USS Gerald Ford surpasses all previous warships. Its top speed is 56 kilometers per hour or 30 knots. It is equipped with radar-guided anti-aircraft systems, large-scale naval guns to counter air attacks and an electromagnetic aircraft catapult used for the first time on a ship of this class.

With this, aircraft weighing 50 tons can be transported at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The required runway length is less than hundred meters. The aircraft carrier offers space for a good 90 fighter jets and helicopters. The cost of development, construction and testing is more than 18 billion US dollars.

The vessel was commissioned in 2017. “American hands and American steel made 100,000 tons of news to the world,” said then-US President Donald Trump at the ship’s naming ceremony. “America’s power is unmatched.” In fact, the ship required more than 90,000 tons of steel. So Trump made the rounds liberally.