CVN 77 IN THE MED
64 // SEPTEMBER 2017 #354 http://www.airforcesmonthly.comAir Wing (CVW) 8 with a different range
of threats compared with those in the
Arabian Sea, RADM Whitesell explained.
“In the eastern Mediterranean, the
Russians are always watching us, trying
to see what kind of operations we have
to maintain. Russian warships and
Russian submarines are always operating
next to us, monitoring our ships.
“In the Arabian Gulf there are the Iranians,
they are all around us, trying to figure
out what we do and we always need to
have situational awareness [of them]. It
is much shorter to fly from the eastern
Mediterranean to Raqqa and within Syria. It
is a quicker flight for us to get to those areas
and that allows us to have more station
time. As far as the Mosul area, it is just
about exactly the same amount of [flying]
time from the Mediterranean as it is from
the Arabian Gulf, but it requires more fuel
for the same distance. But this is the beauty
of the mobility of the aircraft carrier; we
can operate effectively from both areas.
Operations remain exactly the same.”Despite the constant Russian presence
in the Mediterranean, RADM Whitesell
confirmed that the Russians had never
demonstrated hostile intent or acted in
an aggressive way towards US forces.
“We are both professional air forces and
are aware of discipline. We follow the rules
of engagement. We know our nation’s
primary strategic interest here in the
area is not to start a conflict between the
Russians and the United States. Obviously,
the Russians are providing overwatch of
the Syrians on the side of the pro-regime
forces; we are on the other side of the fence
supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces,
but we have the same enemy – ISIS [Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria, or IS]. As long as
everyone is focused on ISIS, everybody
remains professional. The rendezvous
that we had with the Russians has to do
more with curiosity, because we fly in close
proximity to each other. Up to now it has
been a very professional environment.”
RADM Whitesell was speaking on board
CVN 77 before the carrier began its‘Blacklions’ boss
Commander Kevin Robb, the offi cer in
charge of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213
‘Blacklions’, spoke to AFM about the unit’s
Operation Inherent Resolve missions and
the ‘ten-JDAM’ Super Hornet load-out that
was the subject of media attention.
“My squadron fl ies the F/A-18F Super
Hornet and we carry a wide range of
ammunition that helps support the
coalition. We fl y missions in Iraq and in
Syria. As far as ordnance is concerned,
we employ the JDAM [Joint Direct Attack
Munition], and we use sometimes our gun.
We co-operate with multinational JTACs
[Joint Terminal Attack Controllers] on the
ground. We have Danish, French, German,
Italian, UK and, of course, Americans.
“[The ‘ten-JDAM’ Super Hornet] was a real
combat confi guration. This plane fl ew
over Syria and dropped almost all of its
ordnance. It was a team eff ort to achieve
this. There were many calculations
before to make sure it would fl y properly.
I believe it was the fi rst time that a
Super Hornet has carried that much
ammunition in combat. It was actually a
little lighter than the confi guration with
four drop tanks – around 2,500lb lighter.
You take off , you watch the airspeed and
you fl y away. With a little more steam in
the catapult, everything is OK.”Above: CAPT Will Pennington, commanding offi cer
of CVN 77. Below: RADM Kenneth Whitesell,
Commander, Carrier Strike Group 2.MH-60R 166552/’AJ-706’ from Helicopter Maritime
Strike Squadron 70 ‘Spartans’ departs for a morning
patrol around the carrier, loaded with a single
AGM-114 Hellfi re training round. A Russian Navy
intelligence ship was always in the vicinity during
AFM’s time on the carrier.Above: CDR Kevin Robb, commander of VFA-213
‘Blacklions’ in the squadron ready room.