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As a F/A-18 Super Hornet prepares to take off, the scent of jet fuel fills the air. The engines are idle, yet the noise on the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman is already unbearable.
A flight director on a US Navy carrier motions towards the jet, giving the go-ahead for a catapult-like technology to fling the aircraft towards the edge of an apparently impossible-to-reach runway.
It’s in the air and practically out of sight in seconds.
This sophisticated operation is one that the pilots and crew aboard this Nimitz-class carrier – a symbol of US military strength – perform with remarkable accuracy.
And they’re doing so undisturbed by the fact that they’re in the Adriatic Sea at a time when tensions between the United States and Russia are at an all-time high.
This is the first time since the Cold War’s conclusion that a carrier strike group led by NATO has included Truman and five additional ships escorting it (plus at least one or two submarines whose presence is never officially recognized).
“This is my first time working with NATO aboard a carrier,” said F/A-18 fighter aircraft pilot Lt. Alex Tidei.
“A lot of our pilots are doing it for the first time, so it’s been a terrific experience,” he remarked, seemingly unmoved by the emotions surrounding him.
The Truman, which carries 90 aircraft on board, including a fleet of F/A-18s, was on its way to the Middle East in mid-December, but the Pentagon chose to retain it in Europe as tensions rose.
Rear Adm. Curt Renshaw, commander of Strike Group Eight, of which Truman is a member said: “I believe it sends the message to friends that they can rely on us. We’re devoted to our alliances or collaborations, and we can operate, plugin, and play wherever in the world.”
With the Truman close to European beaches, its planes can reach much of Eastern Europe in less than an hour, and its presence in the region provides NATO allies like Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland with extra security assurances.
