The carrier’s captain Paul Spedero said sorties from the Eisenhower have dropped nearly 1,100 bombs on IS targets since June when the ship entered the Persian Gulf after launching strikes from the eastern Mediterranean.
The ship’s 5,200 sailors arm, repair, launch and recover 7-20 Super Hornet F18 fighter jets every day that drop on average 10 bombs each or reconnoiter in support of anti-IS coalition forces.
The crew catapults the jets from the ship at 145mph, and they use a hook and cable to rapidly catch the fighter jets on the 500-foot long carrier deck.
“For a catapult shot, if you think about a Porsche 911, zero to 60 in about 2.5 seconds, these aircraft will go from 0 to 145 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds,” said commander Jeremy Rifas, the carrier’s air boss, from inside the ship’s control tower overlooking launches.
The fighters on these sorties head north by northwest for an hour before refueling midair and then approaching coalition ground forces that provide the pilots with targets for airstrikes or reconnaissance.
“They go into harm’s way every single time, every single mission. I don’t really close my eyes until 2300 when the last one comes back,” admiral Malloy said.
The US-led coalition has flown more than 125,000 sorties in Iraq and Syria since Operation Inherent Resolve began in August 8, 2014, according to the US Department of Defense.
Sourced from agencies, Featured image courtesy: arabnews.com
