Pakistan, April 30 -- The USS Gerald R. Ford is set to return to the United States after completing a record-breaking deployment of more than 300 days at sea, spanning multiple high-tension regions. The world's largest aircraft carrier will head back to its home port in Virginia by mid-May, marking the end of a mission that covered the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Middle East. Its departure comes at a sensitive time, as regional tensions remain fragile and military dynamics continue to evolve.

The carrier's withdrawal will reduce American naval presence in the Middle East, where the United States had deployed three aircraft carriers simultaneously, a level not seen since the early 2000s. The USS George H.W. Bush and USS Abraham Lincoln ...