The U. S. Navy has been forced to urgently revise its aircraft carrier deployment schedule amid a string of setbacks, including a fire aboard one of its key vessels, prolonged repair timelines, and an ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The situation was detailed by The War Zone (TWZ).

According to the report, the newest carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, was recently taken out of service following a fire and sent for repairs to Souda Bay on the island of Crete. Its withdrawal has left just one carrier — USS Abraham Lincoln — in the active operations zone.

To fill the gap, U.S. military leadership decided to extend the service life of the oldest active carrier, USS Nimitz. Under revised plans, it will remain operational until at least March 2027. At the same time, the commissioning of the new USS John F. Kennedy has been postponed.

Other vessels are also facing delays. The modernization of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, originally expected to be completed by the summer of 2025, is still ongoing.

U.S. command officials acknowledge that these overlapping issues carry serious consequences. Prolonged service periods are accelerating wear on equipment while placing additional strain on crews, leading to both physical fatigue and psychological stress among personnel.

Earlier reports indicated that it took more than 30 hours for the crew of USS Gerald R. Ford to fully extinguish the fire. Meanwhile, officials in Tehran suggested that the blaze may have been caused by American sailors themselves, allegedly unwilling to take part in the conflict.