The U.S. navy confirmed moments ago that an F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman and Carrier Air Wing 1 has been lost overseas during a towing operation in the carriers hanger bay. The super Hornet is a single seat fighter from the Knight Hawks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136.
The aircraft was being towed around the hanger when the tow crew lost control of the aircraft and tractor and both were lost overboard.
“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.”
-Statement from the Navy
Stock photo showing an F/A-18 and one of the towing tractors.
According to the statement no sailers were lost however one was injured in the incident. The carrier and her strike group remain mission capable and will continue operations in the Red Sea. For the past months the Red Sea has been the site of major operations against Houthi forces who have attacked international shipping. US forces have struck upwards of 800 targets over the course of the last month.
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F-35C’s with Strike Fighter Squadron 97 (VFA-97) and EA-18G “Growlers” with Electronic Attack Squadron 136 (VAQ-136), both attached to Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2).
April 14, 2024
Yesterday video footage was sent to me showing some footage taken in the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) confirming that the ship had arrived at the Gulf of Oman. The USS Carl Vinson has joined the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in carrying out strikes against Houthi targets in western Yemen.
The USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) spotted entering the Gulf of Aden., passing to the north of Socotra Island. She was spotted by satilites of the European space agency.Location of USS Carl Vinson when photographed by satellites.
Media in Yemen is reporting Houthi areas receiving nearly daily strikes by US forces.
Aftermath of one of the strikes outside of Sanaa.
Targets have included Houthi weapons manufacturing and storage as well as platforms for launching these weapons. Also radar, and air defense systems as well as high level officers in the Houthi organization.
Thank you for reading. I hope you get as much out of what I’m doing here as I get out of making these reports. If so I would invite you to join my Patreon. Doing that would help me more than I can describe. I’ve kept it as cheap as possible to become a member. It’s only a $1.00.
Today the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet released several images showing the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) on their final deployments before her planned 2026/2027 decommissioning.
However, while the Nimitz is a good looking ship the rare part was one of its escorts in Carrier Strike Group 11 (CSG 11). Included in the pictures was USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001). One of only three commissioned Zumwalt-Class Stealth Missile Destroyer.
The Zumwalt-class Michael Monsoor, along with the Nimitz and the rest of CSG 11 are currently on deployment in the Pacific Ocean region.
Also included in the image are Arleigh Burke-Class Guided-Missile Destroyers; USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG l54), USS Gridley (DDG 101), and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) And U.S. Navy Replenishment Tanker, USNS John Lewis (T-AO-205).
To the future… and beyond.
The Zumwalt class was originally designed with littoral operations in mind and they were given a pair of Advanced Gun System (AGS) for their main guns. The AGS was designed for shore bombardment fire missions in support of ground operations however the ammo was very expensive (estimated at $800,000 to $1,000,000 per round in 2016) and only one ammo type was designed so now the gun has no ammo and the weapons is useless. The navy will eventually replace the guns with other systems like large Vertical Launch Cells for the navy’s hypersonic missile currently being tested by the USS Zumwalt. The AGS was designed around the time of the battleships being decommissioned. The navy was nervous about giving up its ability to carry out shore bombardment so the AGS was designed. The now canceled round that would have been fired by the AGS is the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) a rocket assisted precision GPS guided 155mm high explosive warhead that could fire 100 nautical miles.
USS Michael Monsoor.
Zumwalt’s odd shape came from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st Century) research and development program started back in 1994. The program came up with many interesting designs such as the DD-21 or the destroyer for the 21st century, which has the distinctive hull now used by the Zumwalt class.
I see a bit of inspiration from the French La Fayette-class stealth frigate in both ships.
Concept art for the DD-21. The ship was thought up as a capable land, air and sea attack ship for the 21st century. This design went on to inspire the Zumwalt class. .
Aside from the DD-21 the SC-21 had several other interesting ideas I found in my research. One was called an arsenal ship. A massive floating missile platform with as many as 500 VLS cells loaded with Tomahawk cruise missiles. The ship was to be controlled by either a small crew or remotely piloted by crew members on one of the other ship. Todays navy thinking would have an aegis equipped cruiser other ship manually controlling this ship or possible one of the AWACS or AEW planes.
Concept art for the Arsenal ship.
The role this arsenal ship would have played is largely filled by the U.S. submarine fleet at the moment as the four oldest of the ballistic missile SSBN subs have been converted to the SSGN configuration. This change took the Trident missile cells and changed them out their nuclear payload for smaller but more numerous cruise missiles.
Tomahawk test-fire from USS Florida. 2008.
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The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered the USS Carl Vinson(CVN-70) to the Middle East after its current deployment ends. All this is with the backdrop of a nonstop U.S. offensive on Iranian backed Houthi terrorist in Western Yemen,ongoing for over a week.
USS Carl Vinson Transitions the Philippines Sea Jan. 2 2022.
Currently the USS Carl Vinson along with her CSG have been assigned to the 7th fleet in the East Asia region but will leave for the Middle East soon. The CSG is expected to take two-three weeks to arrive when it will join the USS Harry S. Truman already in the region. The Truman has been carrying out daily strikes on Houthi targets. Truman’s deployment was scheduled to end soon but was extended at least a month, possibly longer.
Recent footage showing operations from the USS Harry S Truman Strike group as they carry out strikes against the Houthis.
The USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group is at last sighting made up of Ticonderoga-Class Guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59)as well as the Arleigh Burke-Class Guided Missile Destroyers USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114).
Makeup of the Carl Vinsons Air Wing.
The USS Carl Vinson was the Navy’s test bed for integrating 5th generation fighter jets into the Carrier Air wing. Specifically adding F-35C’s Lightning II which are capable of being launched from the Carrier. The F-35’s are a great addition to the fleet, adding an impressive Multi-Mission capable airframe to an already dominant group of war fighting planes. The officers of the Carl Vinson noted that the F-35 paired really well with the electronic attack capabilities of the EA-18G Growler. Using them together in combined operations made for a hard to beat team, heavy jamming and EW mixed with the amazing stealth of the F-35.
Last night the U.S. launched a wave of airstrikes across Houthi controlled territory in Yemen. Videos released by US Central Command social media showed F/A-18 Super Hornets launched from the USS Harry S. Truman carrying a number of munitions, mostly Joint Standoff Weapons or JSOW’s, a glide bomb capable of being launched outside of the range of standard air defenses. Also involved in the attack on Houthi positions was the USS Gettysburg (CG-64), a Ticonderoga-Class Guided missile cruiser and apart of the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group. An unidentified destroyer also took part in the attack.
The Houthis, showing solidarity with Hamas during their war with Israel started attacking any shipping in the Red Sea with connections to the US, Israel or their allies. While the U.S. navy was sent to defend Freedom of Navigation in the Red Sea, two ships were sunk and more received damage with over a hundred ships being targeted. Hundreds of drones and missiles were shot down and 2 sailers were killed. These attacks stopped once the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been signed but the Houthis threatened to start again, earlier this week.
Video shows the USS Gettysburg (CG-64) and an unidentified Arleigh Burke Guided Missile Destroyer launching a TLAM (Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile) during last nights attack. Right now there are 3 Arleigh Burke’s in the CENTCOM area and it could be any of the 3. The USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), the USS Stout (DDG-55), and the USS Sullivan (DDG-68).
The U.S. and UK previously struck Yemen during the last U.S. administration, however this strike was carried out by the U.S. military alone. It is the Trump Administrations first strike against the Houthis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made sure to point out that these strikes were not one off retaliation strikes as carried out by the last administration.
We’re not going to have these people controlling which ships can go through and which ones cannot, and so your question is, How long will this go on? It will go on until they no longer have the capacity to do that.
Secretaey of State Marco Rubio.
Video shows a strike on a target in Houthi territory.
Last nights attacks were reported to have struck neighborhoods in Sanaa’s northern Shouab district and at least 4 strikes on the Eastern Geraf neighborhood that holds the Houthi headquarters for its political bureau as well as other military facilities.
Other strikes were reported in the southwestern Dhamar providence and the capital of the area, also called Dhamar. No specific target is known in that region.
Irans response to the strikes was a statement from foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who posted on Twitter and urged the U.S. tj stop its airstrikes, and said that Washington could not dictate Iran’s foreign policy. An Iranian General, Hossein Salami denied that Iran was backing the rebel group. Iranian weapons shipments have been coming into Yemen for sometime, the Houthis would not survive without financial and military help from Iran.
After reaching out to The Navy as well as CENTCOM’s press office the only response I received so far was from the navy who referred me to several social media post and directed me to contact CENTCOM, who has yet to respond to my inquiries. This was the response even the larger media company’s were receiving so no surprise there. Mainly I’m interested in post strike assessment as well as what was targeted specifically. I assume missile and drone production and storage but there is really no way to know as the Houthis aren’t saying. When I know more, so will you.
Yesterday at around 11:46pm local time the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) collided with the M/V Besiktas-M, a merchant vessel at the Egyptian port of Said near the mouth of the Suez Canal.
Position of the ships at the time of writing. (2:25PMEST) Both ships seems to be moving under their own power. Highlighted vessel is the Truman, the other goverment vessel shown to the south of it is the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) a part of its Strike Group.
Statements from navy officials say that no flooding occurred because of the collision and that the Truman was undamaged and her nuclear power plant was safe and secure. The status of the Besiktas-M is unknown at this time.
M/V Besiktas-M
The Truman was most recently deployed to the Red Sea and Mediterranean to combat the threat from Iranian backed Houthis in Western Yemen, as well as projecting power in the region and supporting other US and allied forces in the area. Recent Iranian actions have made maintaining a force in the Middle East increasing only important.
The Truman will likely continue or already has continued on its journey back to the Red Sea area. It was returning from a port call in Souda Bay, Crete Greece. NSA Souda Bay provides logistical and operational support to the components of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group
BWhile it might seem absurd to think a merchant vessel could get close enough to a carrier to collide with it in the first place because of the almost absurd amount of security around a U.S. Aircraft Carrier. However, in a restricted space such as close to the Suez Canal there isn’t room for everybody to maintain a distance from the carrier strike group and from how I understand it, all anybody can do is follow the international maritime “rules of the road” which have no requirements that merchant vessels make way for a carrier. All the U.S. can legally do is ask them to keep their distance. That’s how I understand it but if I’m wrong I welcome corrections.
Update
(5:00PM EST)
Some more info has come on the merchant ship Besiktas-M. It is a Panamanian-flagged bulk cargo ship. The ship has been heading north through the Suez canal heading to its destination states as being Constanta in Romania on the Black Sea. The Truman was heading south at the time when the mishap took place. The bulk carrier is said to have moderate damage above the waterline but continued under its own power.
Today, at around 10:15 PDT A US navy Boeing EA-18G Growler Electronic Attack Jet assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 135 crashed while taking off at NAS (Navel Air Station) North Island. The pilot and copilot are both unharmed as they ejected into the San Diego harbor and were picked up. The crew were originally picked up by a sport fishing charter boat the M/V Marietta, before being transferred to a Customs and border patrol craft according to radio calls made in the area that were recorded. The customs patrol boat transported them back to shore where they are now receiving medical attention at UC San Diego Health.
With the crew being recovered emergency crews will respond to the wreckage to investigate as well as clean up and debris and fuel from the crash. According to radio calls from the area there is a large amount of fuel and the navy has dispatched response teams.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
CCTV Video shows the EA-18G Growler coming in down in a quick descent. Essentially falling out of the sky. The camera barely catches it.
The aircraft had traveled to San Diego for ongoing exercises, leaving its home airbase at NAS Whidbey Island in Washington State. It’s unknown if the aircraft was taking part in the Bamboo Eagle 25-1 exercise currently taking place in the pacific.
NAS Whidbey Island
Bamboo Eagle is a massive event focused on a possible high stakes conflict in the Pacific Ocean with China. Being led by the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center in Nellis it has brought dozens of not hundreds of military aircraft to the region for this combined arms operation with the U.S. and several key allies.
Video taken from twitter user San Diego web cams shows footage from their livestream as well as the radio calls that happens after the crash.
The EA-18G Growler is the U.S. Navy’s Electronic Attack aircraft that began to replace the EA-6B Prowler around the late 2010s. Based on the airframe of the F/A-18(E/F) It has since then become an integral part of the carrier air wing. The Growler swapped out the Super hornets main cannon with a strong AN/APG-79 AESA Radar. The plane has 9 weapons hard points but will almost always have 5 of those hard points taken up by ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming pods. The hard points that are left open are usually equipped with either AIM-120 AMRAAM for air threats or more likely AGM-88 HARM Anti-Radiation Missile that track enemy radar signals. The two wingtip rails that would usually hold AIM-9X sidewinders was replaced for AN/ALQ-218 passive radar warning receivers to detect enemy radar.
While mostly known for jamming enemy radar enemy communication can also be jammed by the Growlers suite of comms jamming systems.
Australian EA-18G Growler
While the growler with its jamming pods can defeat all current air and surface threats it comes up against its future is always in question as new and more advanced radars are developed and fielded and it’s jamming pods become out of date. The airframe is only as good as its equipment that needs to be updated in the near future.
Author note.
We here at GCR respect and appreciate any aircraft and crew capable of the roles of SEAD and DEAD. Suppression and destruction of enemy air defense is one of the most important roles in the always critical task of establishing aerial supremacy. The Growler holds a special place in my heart as did the Prowler that came before. Hats off to all of today and yesterday’s Electronic Attack Planes as well as the F-4 that carried out the insane Wild Weasel missions.
If you are somebody with knowledge of this story contact Scott at GCR. My contact info is on the Website and I would love to talk on or off the record regarding this story.
Global Conflict Reporting 
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