Overview

• On Aug. 17, the USS Gerald R. Ford and destroyers USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Bainbridge transited the Strait of Dover into the North Sea with Carrier Air Wing 8 embarked during a scheduled Sixth Fleet deployment.
• The Navy says the strike group will continue operations in the region to enhance readiness, allied interoperability and deterrence, with senior officers describing the transit as deliberate power projection supporting peace through strength.
• The Strait of Dover—the narrowest part of the English Channel—makes such passages highly visible, and the last reported carrier group to navigate it was Harry S. Truman on Oct. 14, 2024.
• Separately, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is operating off Alaska for Exercise Northern Edge 2025 with Canadian forces, a drill expected to involve seven ships, 6,400 service members and 100 aircraft.
• The concurrent North Sea and Alaska operations showcase a distributed U.S. carrier posture across two theaters to demonstrate presence, flexibility and alliance commitment.