"On the arrival of the Ford strike group, the short answer is very soon, but I don't want to talk specifics on this call," the official said during a conference call.
On Sunday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the United States is deploying the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to bolster US regional deterrence efforts in response to the Hamas attacks on Israel.
The strike group includes the US Navy aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser Normandy and the Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyers Thomas Hudner, Ramage, Carney and Roosevelt.