The first full deployment of the US Navy's newest supercarrier and its strike group just took an unexpected turn with the crisis in Israel

• The US announced the deployment of USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean on Sunday amid a major crisis in Israel.
• The USS Gerald R. Ford is the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier and is on its first full deployment.

The Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier's first full deployment took an unexpected twist as the US announced that the ship and its strike group are headed to the eastern Mediterranean amid a growing crisis in Israel.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is moving toward Israel as a show of support for one of its closest allies — and overall the biggest recipient of US military aid — after a shock attack by Hamas killed more than 700 people. Austin added that the US would be "rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions," with the first assistance arriving in the coming days.

The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group headed toward Israel includes the aircraft carrier itself, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, and the Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt. The US is also augmenting American airpower in the region.

Suddenly being called to respond to a serious international crisis is relatively new territory for the Ford, which set sail on its first full deployment only a few months ago, but it is the sort of thing the US carrier force does regularly. This tasking speaks to the longtime function of aircraft carriers as symbols of American military might and deterrents in periods characterized by heightened tensions.

Coming into the area in the wake of Hamas' devastating attack on Israel and Israel's declaration of war on Hamas, the USS Gerald R. Ford is likely to fulfill both roles.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is a new, advanced, first-in-class US Navy supercarrier which was commissioned over five years ago and has been in the making for over a decade. Its hefty price tag in excess of $13 billion was majorly bloated by timeline setbacks and technological integration issues, making it the target of fierce criticism up until its short, somewhat irregular maiden deployment last year, which was seen by some as more of a sea trial than a true deployment. That marked the first time a first-in-class US Navy supercarrier had been deployed in almost 50 years.

The carrier is, as other outlets have noted, currently on its first full deployment as part of a fully certified carrier strike group, which has mostly involved exercises with partners and calls in friendly ports. Its new tasking is something of a deviation from the norm.

Part of the carrier's cost and delays can be attributed to its nearly two dozen new technologies. This includes the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear, both of which are more efficient and launch fixed-wing aircraft more smoothly and faster than their predecessors aboard the Nimitz-class carriers.

The USS Gerald R. Ford also features a new elevator system — which had plenty of problems during the integration process — designed to deliver larger and more complex munitions quicker, as well as a Dual Band Radar system capable of operating in two frequency ranges and two newly designed A1B nuclear reactors that can generate almost three times more power than their predecessors.

This new technology significantly bolsters the capabilities of the ship, making it the crowned jewel of the US Navy's aircraft carriers and a major force as it sails in to provide support amid the crisis unfolding in Israel.

The US Navy refers to aircraft carriers as "the centerpiece of America's Naval forces — the most adaptable and survivable airfields in the world," highlighting their operational importance and versatility.

"Often the presence of an aircraft carrier has deterred potential adversaries from striking against U.S. interests," the Navy notes. "Aircraft carriers support and operate aircraft that engage in attacks on airborne, afloat and ashore targets that threaten free use of the sea and engage in sustained power projection operations in support of U.S. and coalition forces."

That's long been the case, and there have been plenty of recent examples of the US challenging its rivals and adversaries around the world and messaging with its carriers.

In early January 2021, for instance, the US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was returning home from a lengthy 10-month deployment when the Pentagon abruptly ordered the ship to "remain on station" in the Middle East in response to "recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against [then] President Trump and other US government officials."

The original plan to send the Nimitz home was intended to de-escalate tensions with Iran, but its re-deployment was clearly intended to remind Iran of US naval might.

In February 2021, the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group and the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group conducted dual carrier operations in the South China Sea, the latest in a series of US naval movements in the area and Taiwan Strait at that time that sent a message to China.

And back in April 2019, the US Navy deployed two carrier strike groups — the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS John C. Stennis, as well as their combined forces of more than 130 aircraft, 10 ships, and 9,000 sailors and Marines — to send an unmistakable message to Russia, which had been expanding its presence in the Mediterranean since 2015, when Russian military forces joined with Damascus in Syria.

These are just a few of a number of such examples. Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea since June as part of a continuous tasking of Navy carriers to the region since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is the third, after USS George H.W. Bush and USS Harry S. Truman, to sail into these waters since the February 2022 assault, per USNI News.

With the Gerald R. Ford moving toward Israel, the US is sending its most capable, if still green, aircraft carrier into the area, but it could still face challenges in dangerous waters, especially given the capabilities of some of the regions more hostile actors, such as Hezbollah and its anti-ship missiles.

The unexpected conflict playing out between Israel and Hamas is only expected to get worse and could expand as other actors make threats and Israel looks to retaliate and turn up the pressure on entire Gaza Strip, home to roughly 2 million people, with a possible heavy and devastating ground assault.

The deployment of the carrier strike group indicates US support for its ally during this serious crisis.

"Strengthening our joint force posture, in addition to the material support that we will rapidly provide to Israel, underscores the United States' ironclad support for the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli people," Austin said on Sunday. "My team and I will continue to be in close contact with our Israeli counterparts to ensure they have what they need to protect their citizens and defend themselves against these heinous terrorist attacks."