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Yemen's Houthis unleashed a new onslaught of anti-ship and land attack weaponry today around the southern end of the Red Sea. U.S. Central Command says the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58) and F/A-18 Super Hornets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike group shot down a dozen one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land attack cruise missiles. The series of engagements occurred over a 10-hour period starting at 6:30 AM local time. Not one of the weapons hit its mark. Editor's note: For full context and background, make sure to get caught up on what is going...

"... In service with the Navy and Marine Corps since 1983, the flexible design has gone through a Porsche 911-like evolution. Two type series of the original Hornet, the A/B and C/D preceded the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, a larger more capable version of the F/A-18 introduced in 1999. Since then the Super Hornet has been updated with “Block II” models and now there’s a “Block III” Super Hornet....

The nuclear-powered aircraft - carrier USS George Washington will make a port call in South Korea Wednesday, ahead of a joint naval drill in the East Sea next week. The 97,000-ton ship based in Yokosuka, Japan, will arrive at South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan with some 60 aircrafts, including F-18 Super Hornets, news agency Yonhap said. The report quoting the US military said, three destroyers from the US carrier's strike group, including the USS McCampbell and the USS John S McCain, will also arrive in South Korea on the same day. SKorea and the US have agreed to...

The Australian air force said it will fly six more new F/A-18F Super Hornets from the United States to Australia in early July. The planes will be stationed at the Royal Australian Air Force base in Amberley in the northeast state of Queensland. Minister for Defense John Faulkner said a detachment of RAAF aircrew and maintenance personnel from No. 1 Squadron is conducting work-ups with the aircraft at the Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif. "The detachment is completing comprehensive flight testing which includes up to 96 hours of test and evaluation flying and two weeks of electronic warfare flight trials...

Boeing's F-15E Strike Eagle. The company expects defense revenue from outside the U.S. to rise to much as 25 percent of all its defense business in five years on demand for fighter jets and helicopters.Boeing Co. expects defense revenue from outside the U.S. to rise to much as 25 percent of all its defense business in five years on demand for fighter jets and helicopters from Asia-Pacific countries. International revenue makes up about 16 percent of the defense division's total sales, Dennis Muilenburg, the head of the unit, said in Singapore today. Business from the Asia- Pacific, which accounts for...

The United States Navy and Marine Corps operate a fleet of more than 1,100 tactical fighter aircraft that provide air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities. Those aircraft include Hornets (F/A-18A, B, C, and D), Super Hornets (F/A-18E and F), and Harriers (AV-8B); within the next few years, a new and more advanced aircraft—the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)—will start being added to the fleet. Although current plans call for the purchase of about 700 new fighter aircraft over the next 15 years, the Department of the Navy is projecting that purchases planned for the next 5 to 10 years will be...

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) successfully completed flight deck certification May 14 pushing itself one step closer to its 21st deployment. Flight deck certification is a requirement that every aircraft carrier must achieve prior to deploying with fixed-wing aircraft. The certification proves that the crew of the ship is capable of safely launching and recovering aircraft and is prepared to prevent or combat flight deck mishaps. The last time Enterprise conducted flight deck certification was prior to her last deployment in 2007. "Air department Sailors eagerly awaited the arrival of aircraft during a long shipyard period, and to have aircraft back...

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) successfully recovered and launched fixed-wing aircraft May 12 after more than two years. The “Checkmates” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211, landed four F/A-18F Super Hornets aboard the world’s first nuclear-powered carrier, and the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 followed shortly later with the first launch. Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, also known as the “Red Rippers,” also launched and recovered aircraft on a day long anticipated by the crew. In order to safely recover a jet there must be 16 personnel below the flight deck manning the arresting gear equipment,...

Carrier training for our pilots Mark Dodd | August 21, 2007 AUSTRALIAN fighter pilots will be taught to land on aircraft carriers for the first time in 25 years. A select handful of Royal Australian Air Force instructors will be chosen for lessons on how to land on US aircraft carriers flying the new F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter. The plan, which could eventually lead to participation in US carrier-based operations, marks the first time Australian pilots have flown off aircraft carriers since the retirement of the navy's flagship carrier HMAS Melbourne in 1982. The carrier training underscores the rapidly evolving...

Squadron Homecoming Marks End of Era for Tomcats Story Number: NNS060310-05 Release Date: 3/10/2006 1:58:00 PM By Journalist 1st Class Stefanie Holzeisen-Mullen, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The “Tomcatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VF) 31 and the “Black Lions” of VF-213 arrived at Naval Air Station Oceana March 10, ending their six-month deployment with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 embarked on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), and closing the book on the Tomcat as an asset in the Navy’s war fighting arsenal. VF-31 and 213’s “fly-off” marked the last operational flight of...

Farewell and welcome on Oceana's runways The Virginian-Pilot © April 8, 2005 Few sights compare to that of an F-14 Tomcat soaring through the blue sky above Virginia Beach. Residents and tourists alike delight in glimpsing the jets wheeling and plummeting over the ocean, or rocketing full tilt from the NAS Oceana runways, their distinctive delta-winged shape more reminiscent of a sci-fi fighter plane than a U.S. Navy workhorse. The F-14's grace and elegant design almost always elicit a pause, a sigh, a pointed finger or a sense of wonder at how a triangle can fly. The Tomcat is an...

EVERETT, Wash. - The Navy confirmed Wednesday that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been released from duty in the Iraq (news - web sites) war and is returning to its home port here. The carrier was relieved of duty by the USS Nimitz, spokesman Rick Huling said. No arrival date had been set, but families of crew members are expecting the ship in about a month and are planning a big welcome. It would be the first homecoming for a large unit involved in the war in Iraq. The Lincoln and its seven-ship battle group have been at...