- The US Navy has been regularly striking Houthi missiles and drones before they launch.
- Planes from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower are always flying and ready to execute these strike missions.
- Business Insider recently traveled to the Ike in the Red Sea and saw these activities firsthand.
Flight operations on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower can be chaotic to watch, with sailors, munitions, and aircraft constantly in motion. That flurry of activity though allows the warship to put a tremendous amount of combat power in the air, including heavily armed jets that are ready to strike at a moment's notice.
The Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier operating in the Red Sea, is a lead ship in the US Navy's battle against the Iran-backed Houthis, who have spent the last few months firing missiles and drones into the international shipping lanes off the coast of Yemen.
Fighter jets from the Ike have been involved in intercepting these threats in the air and striking the Houthis directly in Yemen. It's a large-scale operation for the crew to keep the aircraft ready for flight and airborne, with aircraft taking off from the carrier all the time.
Business Insider recently embarked on the Ike as it carried out its mission in the Red Sea and observed the flight ops firsthand. Here is what it looked like from the carrier's massive flight deck.
The carrier's air wing
The Eisenhower's air wing includes F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters, E-2 Hawkeye early-warning aircraft, EA-18 Growler jets for electronic warfare and surveillance, and helicopters.
On the flight deck
Most of the 70 aircraft on the carrier are on the flight deck. The rest of the planes are below in an area known as the "hangar bay," where maintenance is performed.
Different jobs
The personnel on the flight deck wear different colored vests to indicate their different jobs, such as handlers, landing signal officers, arresting gear and catapult officers, and so on.
All working to keep things running
These service members are constantly in the process of receiving planes, launching them, or getting aircraft ready for their next launch.
Preparations
These preparations include refueling and rearming the aircraft with munitions, especially if any are released during the previous flight.
Busy days
During a typical day out on the Ike, dozens of planes may take off over multiple launch and recovery cycles that in total can last up to 12 hours — sometimes longer if needed.
Always ready
"We are on alerts all the time," Capt. Marvin Scott, the commander of the Ike's carrier air wing, told Business Insider.
"And then inside of those alerts," he said, "we also have cyclic flight operations where we fly regularly over the course of half a day. We can go longer, we can go shorter. It just depends on exactly what the operational need is."
Catapulting planes off the ship
Fighter jets carrying heavy payloads are launched from one of the Ike's multiple catapults, which on this carrier are steam-powered mechanisms that slingshot the aircraft forward at fast speeds.
A high-speed launch
When they take off, reaching speeds of 150 mph in just seconds, fighter jets make an incredibly loud roar and leave a trail of hot exhaust in their wake. It has a real "Top Gun" opening scene vibe to it, just without "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins playing.
Getting the aircraft back on board
Upon landing, the aircraft is slowed down in seconds from speeds of 150 mph by the Ike's arresting gear, which are belts that help the aircraft quickly decelerate.
Brief moments of calm in the chaos
Even though flight operations may appear chaotic with lots of moving parts, there are still moments of resounding peace and quiet on the flight deck between missions. But, then it's right back to operations again.
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