US Navy prepares Ford carrier strike group for possible deployment scenarios with COMPTUEX

USS Gerald R Ford , pictured here during COMPTUEX, is being prepared for deployment. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

With aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) and its carrier strike group (CSG) preparing for deployment later in 2025, the US Navy (USN) is putting the ships through a Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) that started in mid-March, testing some new systems and operational concepts for a variety of scenarios the CSG is likely to face, according to USN officials.

“This is our capstone integrated training,” Rear Admiral Paul Lanzilotta, commander of CSG 12, anchored by Ford , said on 21 March while briefing the media during COMPTUEX in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia.

“When we finish this, we're certified and ready to go on deployment,” Rear Adm Lanzilotta said, noting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could decide to deploy the CSG during the normal schedule or earlier.

The Ford CSG would be positioned “to be ready to surge when needed”, Rear Adm Lanzilotta said.

Ford will deploy to the US Sixth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) during the second-quarter timeframe of 2025, Commander of US Fleet Forces Command Admiral Daryl Caudle said on 17 March during a round-table discussion on the ship's COMPTUEX.

The ship could also shift into the US Central Command AOR, Adm Caudle said.

“Now, it's all about learning and getting the ship certified,” Adm Caudle said, adding the navy is using live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) forces.

For COMPTUEX, the focus is on integrating all the CSG carrier, destroyers, and other units to fight as a single force.

Speaking to media aboard Ford