Operation Iraqi Freedom

US Navy selects Commercial Dismantlement plan to dismantle and dispose USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

US Navy selects Commercial Dismantlement plan to dismantle and dispose USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

The US Navy has opted for “Alternative 3,” which involves dismantling and disposing of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) using commercial industry… Read More

4 weeks ago

A-10 Pilot explains how the Mighty Warthog Stacks Up Against MANPADS

“MANPADS s**k. They're Gollum... and you're Frodo, flying around in The One Ring,” Lynn Taylor, former A-10 Warthog pilot. The… Read More

5 months ago

Meet A-10 pilot Kim “Killer Chick” Campbell, the Heroic Warthog driver who Landed Her Damaged Thunderbolt II Using Only ‘Cranks and Cables’

After her last rocket pass, Kim “Killer Chick” Campbell was maneuvering off-target when she felt and heard a large explosion… Read More

7 months ago

Here’s how US Navy F-14As allowed USAF F-15Es to get the most out of their AAQ-28 Litening II pods during Operation Iraqi Freedom

The expertise and professionalism of the Tomcat FAC(A)s allowed Strike Eagle aircrews who worked with them to get the most… Read More

9 months ago

The story of the US Navy TARPS-equipped F-14 Tomcat that took a photo of its own GBU-12 heading for its target

Taken during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the following amazing photograph of a GBU-12 heading for its target was taken by a… Read More

12 months ago

US Navy F/A-18 pilot remembers the mid-air misses he had with two USAF F-16s and a B-1 during Operation Iraqi Freedom

‘Immediately ahead of me was the dark mass of a B-1, which was so close that part of the left… Read More

1 year ago

Remembering the Iraqi Air Force fighter jets found buried in the desert by American Forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom

“When United States and coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003 [during Operation Iraqi Freedom], they faced no Iraqi Air Force… Read More

2 years ago

Here’s why the Canberra PR 9 had been the best reconnaissance aircraft during early operations in Enduring and Iraqi Freedom

Boasting a range of nearly 2000 nautical miles, the aircraft was unique, as no other reconnaissance platform could carry four… Read More

3 years ago

Tomcat finale: the last ever carrier ops of the original F-14A model and why the Fighting Checkmates are the US Navy’s last and only fighter squadron

VF-211 would make its final Tomcat trap and catapult launch on May 20, 2004 as USS Enterprise conducted local operations… Read More

3 years ago

How two VMA-214 AV-8B Harrier pilots helped Marines to win the battle for Saddam Hussein’s Azimiyah Palace and Imam Abu Hanifah Mosque during OIF

‘I kept thinking to myself, 'Don't fuck this up, centre the pipper, keep it slewed on the target,' Maj Mark… Read More

3 years ago

USMC Hornet Pilot Tells the Story of a Joint F/A-18 – B-1B OIF Sortie Aimed at Eliminating Saddam Hussein

`Within five minutes of us hitting Saddam’s palace, the B-1 had dropped his JDAM on the restaurant, which was only… Read More

3 years ago

USMC F/A-18D Hornet Pilot Tells the Story of a Tense ATARS Mission aimed to Find a Missing IrAF MiG-25 Foxbat few days before the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom

“The target area was extremely quiet — almost too quiet for a suspected landing site of a valuable MiG-25 fighter.… Read More

4 years ago

First Final Flight for Compass Call: USAF Retires its first Specially Modified EC-130H Aircraft

On Mar. 19, 1982, the first specially modified EC-130H “Compass Call” aircraft, tail number 1587, arrived at Davis-Monthan Air Force… Read More

4 years ago

Famed Naval Aviator Vincent “Jell-O” Aiello tells the story of one of the final U.S. Air Strikes of the 20th Century

Join Vincent “Jell-O” Aiello as he re-lives an air strike in the Iraqi no-fly zone at the turn of the… Read More

4 years ago

The Story of Kim Campbell, the Heroic Female A-10 Pilot who Landed Her Damaged Warthog Using Only ‘Cranks and Cables’

"I am incredibly thankful to those who designed and built the A-10 as well as the maintainers who did their… Read More

4 years ago

“Abe’s” Extraordinary Odyssey: The Story of the Longest Deployment for an Aircraft Carrier in Post-Vietnam Military History

17 years ago, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) embarked on the longest deployment for an aircraft carrier in post-Vietnam military history.… Read More

4 years ago