Airforces Monthly - February 2017

in the fight against ISIL [Daesh],” said
CVW-3 commander Capt Jeffrey Anderson
prior to the end of the deployment. The
air wing’s CO also commented on the
‘Ike’s’ operations from the Mediterranean.
“Our current position gives more flexibility
with our mission. It allows the air wing
to fly sorties to support the on-going
effort to dismantle and roll back terrorist
networks in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.”
Super Hornet and ‘legacy’ Hornet strike
fighters typically flew with mixed loads
of 500lb GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack
Munitions (JDAMs) and GBU-54 Laser
JDAMs as well as larger 1,000lb GBU-32
JDAMs. Self-protection weapons normally
comprised two AIM-9X Sidewinders
and a single AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM.
Strike roles
The nature of the operations saw the
pilots operating with special forces
teams on the ground and local forces
such as Kurdish Peshmerga to help
locate and identify targets. The
crews worked with both pre-planned
targets and fleeting ‘pop-up’ targets
of opportunity (dynamic targets).
Capt Paul C Spedero, Ike’s CO,
highlighted the importance of OIR,
pointing out that it demonstrates the
deep commitment of the US and regional
partner nations to eliminating the Daesh
terrorist group and the threat it poses
to the international community.
CVN 69 began the journey home in late
December to be relieved by the newest
carrier in the Nimitz class, the
USS George H W Bush (CVN 77).
Transiting the Suez Canal
between the 5th and 6th
Fleet AORs. US Navy/Smn
Christopher A. Michaels
A weathered
‘Swordsmen’
F/A-18F, bedecked with
an impressive bomb
tally, taxies back to its
parking area.
Ioannis Lekkas
www.airforcesmonthly.com #347 FEBRUARY 2017 63