USS Gerald R Ford: Commanders praise Portsmouth for 'red carpet' treatment during visit of 'badass' next-generation aircraft carrier

The world’s largest aircraft carrier – which at 337m measures 50m longer than HMS Queen Elizabeth – arrived in Stokes Bay on Monday.

As the ship prepares to leave the Solent, Portsmouth can say it has done itself proud with a world-class welcome for the thousands of crew visiting from the carrier, according to senior US Navy staff.

Captain Paul Lanzilotta, the commanding officer of the warship, said: ‘The city of Portsmouth really rolled out the red carpet for us. Sailors typically join the navy to work hard, earn some benefits, and to see the world. This is the “seeing the world” part for them. And my sailors really appreciate the warm, friendly welcome we have got from all of the citizens of Portsmouth.’

Strike Group commander Admiral Gregory Huffman agreed, adding: ‘I want to say how excited we are to be here. This is our first foreign port visit and it’s fitting that we are dong it in the home of the Royal Navy. It’s special to be here and the crew have very much enjoyed their time visiting.’

Ford spent the last two weeks conducting exercises with Nato allies including Spain, Germany, and Canada, which briefly hosted the carrier in Nova Scotia.

Returning to dry land, crew members had high praise for their brief visit.

Desiree Rohrer, an aircraft mechanic, comparing Portsmouth to previous trips abroad, said: ‘It’s better than France. You can understand everyone here, the service is better, even better than Canada. We’ve had a great time.

Retail services specialist Zada Hernandez agreed that Portsmouth should ‘definitely’ be proud of its warm welcome.

The 21-year-old said: ‘We didn’t know what to expect. Everyone has been so welcoming. I have been taking photos of everything – I would definitely come back.’

And shops across the city are reporting a boost from the warship’s visit, with Albert Road shops saying they’ve had weekend-levels of trade during the usually quiet midweek period.

The carrier, which was christened in November 2013 and embarked on her first operations on October 4, is making a brief stop after exercises to test a wide variety of technology onboard, from rapid ammunition transportation systems to electromagnetic aircraft launch runways.

The new launch system – which is more efficient in size, energy use, and maintenance requirements – was praised by sailors for its smoother aircraft launches and its precise launch speed capabilities.

‘This ship is badass, I will just put it that way,’ said Captain Lanzilotta.

He added: ‘It’s a really great system of systems, high technology is everywhere you walk on this ship.’

The new technology has not come cheap, costing more than £10.8bn to build the 100,000 ton warship.

Now Admiral Gregory Huffman says the crew are hoping they will have a chance to test the ship’s capabilities alongside the Royal Navy and the fleet’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.

He said: ‘That would be absolutely fabulous. The opportunity to do what we call duel-carrier operations come few and far between. Those are really special opportunities. Our sailors would have loved to visit (HMS) Queen Elizabeth if she had been in port.’