Though Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) are events separated by 12 years, in terms of the advancement of Naval Aviation warfighting capability, it is a generational leap. The transition from analog to digital warfighting and the revolution in precision weapons has made the carrier strike group a decisive force in Joint warfighting.
The air wings assigned to USS Kitty Hawk ((CV-63) with CVW-5 embarked), Constellation ((CV-64), CVW-2), Abraham Lincoln ((CVN-72), CVW-14), Theodore Roosevelt ((CVN-71), CVW-8) and Harry S. Truman ((CVN-75), CVW-3) demonstrated the overpowering might of carrier aviation that represents the hard work of the past 12 years to keep Naval Aviation at the tip of the spear. The differences in the air wing of 1991 and the air wing of 2003 are not in the platforms but in the sensors, networks and weapons that give an air wing its capability.
While numbers don’t always tell the whole story, they may be a good place to begin. In 1991, we had 58 tactical aircraft assigned to a typical air wing. The 24 Tomcats had no air-to-ground capability, and even with the 10 Intruders, our precision strike capability was limited to laser-guided bombs (LGB).
Air Wing 1991 Air Wing 2003
24 F-14 10 F-14
24 F/A-18 or A-7 36 F/A-18
10 A-6E — —
4 EA-6B 4 EA-6B
10 S-3B 8 S-3B
4 E-2C 4 E-2C
6 H-3 7 SH-60/HH-60
Flash forward 12 years to OIF and we find 50 strike aircraft assigned per air wing, all of them capable of delivering precision-guided munitions (PGM). During Desert Storm PGMs accounted for fewer than 10 percent of the total tonnage delivered. During OIF, either LGB or GPS weapons accounted for 75 percent of the ordnance dropped by our aviators. Instead of eight aircraft attacking a single target, individual aircraft were striking two or three DMPIs (desired mean point of impact, or where you’d like your bomb to hit) — and the metric is now DMPIs per sortie, a startling transformation in capability.
Super Hornet on First Deployment
One significant milestone for Naval Aviation during OIF was the first deployment of the F/A-18E Super Hornet with VFA-115 aboard Abraham Lincoln. During their nine and a half month cruise, VFA-115 had a full mission-capable rate of 89.7 percent, and the aircraft made an immediate impact on the battlefield in terms of persistence (range and payload). The flexibility of the Super Hornet was essential as Hornet tankers passed 3.5 million pounds of fuel. This outstanding wartime performance earned the VFA-115 Eagles a Navy Unit Commendation.
On another note, the Nimitz (CVN-68)/CVW-11 team arrived to relieve Abraham Lincoln in late April and brought with them the Super Hornets of VFA-14 and VFA-41, the latter equipped with F/A-18Fs on its first deployment. Prior to arriving in theater, CVW-11/Nimitz sent four jets (two E’s and two F’s) to Abraham Lincoln from the Strait of Malacca to assist with tanking and forward air control (airborne) missions (FAC(A)) in another example of the amazing versatility of carrier aviation.
Proving it is all about the weapons, sensors and network, and not about the platform, the venerable F-14 Tomcat provided outstanding precision support (both JDAM and LGB) and FAC(A). As we all know, 12 years ago the idea of a Tomcat dropping ordnance was unheard of. However, with the addition of the Lantirn pod and, recently, a Joint direct attack munition (JDAM) capability, the F-14 has become a superb strike-fighter. Naval Aviation owes much to the Naval Air Systems Command team that modified the F-14D’s software en route to the battle area to be able to drop JDAM!
How far have we come? Remember that during Desert Storm we didn’t have e-mail, and bandwidth was measured in bits. Air tasking orders (ATOs) were sent from headquarters to the carriers by daily courier flights. In OIF the ATO was updated almost hourly via e-mail. To quote Air Wing Two’s CAG Mark Fox, “Quicker communications lead to better targeting information.”
In OIF, targeting data was sent from the combined arms operational center (CAOC) to the fleet in real time utilizing instant messaging capabilities. Many times pilots were launched from the carrier with a target package assigned, only to have their targets changed in mid-mission based on updated information and fast tactical imagery (FTI) from the boots on the ground. We could not have done that 12 years ago!
Carriers in Second War on Terror Deployment
For two of the carriers deployed for OIF, this was a second combat cruise in support of America’s War on Terror. In October 2001 Theodore Roosevelt and Kitty Hawk were major players in the successful Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan. At the time, Roosevelt set the record for most days consecutively underway by an aircraft carrier. This is a huge tribute to the aircraft carrier crews and to the great shipyard team that keeps them ready.
Theodore Roosevelt had been back from OEF for less then a year when she headed to the Caribbean in January to begin her competitive task unit exercise (CompTUEx). On 5 January she was ordered to steam for the Eastern Mediterranean, where she joined with the Harry S. Truman/CVW-3 strike group to launch missions in support of operations in western Iraq. CVW-8 aboard TR had the distinction of being assigned the first Naval Reserve squadron to deploy since the Korean War. VFA-201, based at NAS/JRB Forth Worth, chopped to CVW-8 in November 2002 and joined the air wing during the final phases of the Fallon work ups (see The Hook, Su ’03, Page 48). VFA-201 had recently transitioned to the F/A-18A+ and brought tremendous experience to the CVW-8 team. The talented Selected Reserves of VFA-201 are an example of the surge capability the Reserve Force brings as we move to a more ready force under the Fleet Readiness Plan.
Kitty Hawk also had been back from OEF less then a year when she too was called back to sea. During OEF, Kitty Hawk had left most of her usually assigned CVW-5 behind to make room for a large number of Special Forces to be employed in Afghanistan. During OIF, Kitty Hawk returned to her more conventional role of air strikes with her full air wing embarked. The CVW-5/Kitty Hawk team will become even more potent when CVW-5 swaps the F-14As of VF-154 for F/A-18Fs flown by VFA-102.
Vinson An Unsung Hero
I would like to specifically mention the achievements of two more of our great carriers, USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and Constellation, during Enduring Freedom. Even though she launched no strikes in anger, Carl Vinson is the unsung hero of OIF. Vinson’s presence in WestPac deterred any aggression in that corner of the globe, and was vital to letting potential adversaries know that, even with the forces we had engaged in OIF, we still had significant striking power in place to deter aggression in Asia as well. After OIF, the Vinson/CVW-9 team remained on station in WestPac while Kitty Hawk was in overhaul in Yokosuka.
Commissioned in 1961, Constellation was the first carrier to launch strikes into Vietnam in 1964. After 42 years of fleet service, Connie has gone to a well-earned rest and replaced in the fleet by our newest carrier, Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Well done to America’s Flagship and her crew on an outstanding final deployment in defense of freedom!
Iraqi Freedom is only the most recent test in the ongoing War on Terror. The carrier strike force we deployed to liberate Iraq from the oppressive dictatorship of Saddam Hussein is much more capable and persistent than the fleet that liberated Kuwait 12 years ago during Desert Storm.
However, the one constant between the fleets of 1991 and 2003 is the dedication of our sailors and Marines who make it all happen. Well done.