Tag Archives: CVN-77

CNO: U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Helping Develop ‘One Larger Team’ to Tackle Maritime Operations

CNO: U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Helping Develop ‘One Larger Team’ to Tackle Maritime Operations

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and his counterpart, Chief of Staff of the French Navy Adm. Christophe Prazuck, observe launches of both American and French fighters aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on May 14, 2018. USNI News photo.

This post is the second in a two-part series on the U.S./French integrated air wing effort taking place aboard USS George H.W. Bush. For additional coverage, please see U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Exercise Accelerates French Pilots’ Return to Sea.

ABOARD USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH, IN THE VIRGINIA CAPES OPERATING AREA – When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and Chief of Staff of the French Navy Adm. Christophe Prazuck stood together on the flight deck of carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on Monday, pairs of fighters flew overhead – one American F/A-18E-F Super Hornet, one French Rafale at its side. Read More

U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Exercise Accelerates French Pilots' Return to Sea

U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Exercise Accelerates French Pilots’ Return to Sea

French Navy Dassault Rafale M fighter lands on USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) USNI Photo.

This post is the first in a two-part series on the U.S./French integrated air wing effort taking place aboard USS George H.W. Bush. For additional coverage, please see CNO: U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Helping Develop ‘One Larger Team’ to Tackle Maritime Operations.

ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH, IN THE VIRGINIA CAPES OPERATING AREA – Performing touch-and-go’s, catapult launches and arrested landings, French naval aviators are now qualifying aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and speeding up the timeline for their carrier to be combat ready.

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Recent Carrier Deployment Raises More Questions About Navy's Rash of Physiological Episodes

Recent Carrier Deployment Raises More Questions About Navy’s Rash of Physiological Episodes

An F/A-18C Hornet attached to the “Raging Bulls” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 37 launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) (GHWB) as an EA-18G Growler, attached to the “Lancers” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 131 prepares to launch on April 8, 2017. US Navy photo.

The Navy is grappling with even more questions about the physiological episodes its fighter pilots have been facing, after Carrier Air Wing 8 deployed with additional tools to measure and treat PEs and returned with less clarity on the connection between cabin pressure and physical side effects. Read More

Navy: Half the Carrier Fleet Tied Up In Maintenance, Other 5 Strained To Meet Demands

Navy: Half the Carrier Fleet Tied Up In Maintenance, Other 5 Strained To Meet Demands

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) arrives pierside at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton prior to a planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. US Navy photo.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) arrives pierside at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton prior to a planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. US Navy photo.

The Navy has run its 10 aircraft carriers hard since USS Enterprise (CVN-65) decommissioned in December 2012 and is now paying the resulting maintenance bill, with half the fleet tied up in repairs and the other five trying to keep up with combatant commanders’ needs. Read More

Air Boss: Carrier Truman Will Only Have 40-Day Workup; Ike, Bush Likely Compressed Too

Air Boss: Carrier Truman Will Only Have 40-Day Workup; Ike, Bush Likely Compressed Too

150828-N-MA158-005 PORTSMOUTH, Va. (Aug. 28, 2015) The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) departs Norfolk Naval Shipyard following successful completion of its drydocking planned incremental availability. (U.S. Navy photo by Shayne Hensley/Released)

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) departs Norfolk Naval Shipyard on Aug. 28, 2015, following successful completion of its drydocking planned incremental availability. US Navy photo.

SAN DIEGO – The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is now back to sea after a nine-month extension of its docking planned incremental availability – but the scheduling problems it created will trickle through the carrier fleet, the Navy’s air boss said Tuesday. Read More

U.S. Navy Strikes ISIS Targets in Iraq

U.S. Navy Strikes ISIS Targets in Iraq

An F/A-18C Hornet attached to the Golden Warriors of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on July 26, 2014. US Navy Photo

An F/A-18C Hornet attached to the Golden Warriors of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on July 26, 2014. US Navy Photo

Two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters operating from the carrier USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) have struck an artillery piece operated by Iraq and Syria Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) terrorists near Irbil in northern Iraq. Read More

Opinion: The Wrong Debate on Coping with ISIS

Opinion: The Wrong Debate on Coping with ISIS

ISIS fighters in June.

ISIS fighters in June.

Since the dawn of military aviation, proponents and skeptics of air power have vigorously debated its efficacy, often focusing on whether air power is capable of winning wars by itself. Not surprisingly, this debate is surfacing again as we consider whether and how the United States should be involved in the current crisis in Iraq. Read More

Opinion: U.S. Air Power Won’t Defeat ISIS

Opinion: U.S. Air Power Won’t Defeat ISIS

An F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares to launch from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on June 15, 2014. US Navy Photo

An F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares to launch from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on June 15, 2014. US Navy Photo

As Iraq and Syria Islamic State (ISIS) insurgent forces advance on Baghdad, some American political leaders, led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), have urged that the United States begin airstrikes immediately to stop the growing unrest in Iraq. Although air power may be the only expedient and politically acceptable option, there are several reasons why that all-too-familiar impulse to use our asymmetric advantage in airpower will not defeat ISIS. Read More