Combat Aircraft – September 2019

IRAN

AL UDEID

STRAIT OF HORMUZ

QATAR

BAHRAIN

UNITED ARAB

EMIRATES

AL DHAFRA

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) — CSG-12

Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) AG

Squadron Nickname Aircraft MoDex

VFA-143 ‘Pukin’ Dogs’ F/A-18E 1xx

VFA-103 ‘Jolly Rogers’ F/A-18F 2xx

VFA-86 ‘Sidewinders’ F/A-18E 3xx

VFA-25 ‘Fist of the Fleet’ F/A-18E 4xx

VAQ-140 ‘Patriots’ EA-18G 5xx

VAW-121 ‘Bluetails’ E-2D 6xx

HSC-5 ‘Nightdippers’ MH-60S 61x

HSM-79 ‘Gri ns’ MH-60R 7xx

VRC-40 Det 3 ‘Rawhides’ C-2A xx

Al Dhafra’s 380th AEW is currently

hosting F-35As and F-15C/Es, with more

Strike Eagles at an undisclosed location,

plus 1st Fighter Wing F-22 Raptors at Al

Udeid, Qatar.

Protecting shipping lanes

The US is seeking to form an international

military coalition to safeguard the

shipping lanes around Iran and Yemen.

The UK raised the threat to UK shipping in

the area to ‘critical’ on June 9. US Marine

Corps Gen Joseph Dunford, chairman of

the US Joint Chiefs of Sta , said he wanted

to ‘ensure freedom of navigation’ in the

region, with essential trade routes being

a ected by recent incidents. Dunford

said the US would provide command and

control vessels to spearhead the e orts,

recruiting Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

nations to provide assets such as patrol

boats in support.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS

Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) and its strike

group are currently operating in the US

5th Fleet area of operations in support of

naval operations in the Northern Arabian

Gulf. The air assets of the embarked

Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) are  ying

missions to protect the sea lanes, as well

as meeting Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’

(OIR) requirements in Iraq, monitoring

and striking remaining pockets of

IS forces.

Air power resources

The US Air Force has positioned a range

of  ghter aircraft and bombers in and

around the Gulf region to o er di erent

e ects. F-15Cs of the 493rd Expeditionary

Fighter Squadron (EFS) ‘Grim Reapers’ at

Al Dhafra have now been replaced by

eight Florida Air National Guard F-15Cs

from the 159th EFS that headed east

A Florida ANG F-15C Eagle en route to the Gulf on June 28. Six of the jets carried the AN/

AAQ-33 Sniper advanced targeting pod, used for long-range identifi cation of targets.

Antonio Muñiz Zaragüeta

http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2019 27

24-28 US Gulf Air C.indd 27 18/07/2019 13:46