B-2 Spirit Northrop Grumman Stealth Bomber

The B-2 Spirit aircraft began as a black project identified as High Altitude Penetrating Bomber. Then it became the Advanced Technology Bomber, utilizing the code Senior Cejay. Afterwards, it became the B-2 Spirit. In 1980’s, 23 billion dollars were spent secretly for studies and advancement of the aircraft. In 1985, the aircraft became a low altitude bomber from a high altitude bomber, which they spent an extra cost for.

The B-2 was in service in three operations. Its first appearance was in the Kosovo War in 1999. It first brought the satellite guided JDAM in operations. Because of that, it was used in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The B-2 is extremely computerized. And unlike those single seat fighter aircrafts, a crew can sleep inside a B-2, set his meals or use a toilet.

The B-2 Spirit is a stealth heavy bomber and has the ability of organizing both nuclear and conventional armaments. It is privately operated by the United States Air Force. Its advancement was a highlight in the upgrading program of the United States Department of Defense. The B-2 aircrafts 2nd generation stealth technology was to assist the aircraft’s penetration function to go on tremendous anti-aircraft protection.

USS Ronald Reagan CVN-76 Model

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) is the ninth and largest Nimitz class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. She was laid down on February 12, 1998; launched on March 4, 2001; christened by Nancy Reagan; and commissioned on July 12, 2003. She is first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the late President Ronald Reagan. Traditionally, very few ships of the Navy were named after a person who was alive at the time of the christening, but recently the number has been increasing. President Reagan was not able to attend the launch or the commissioning due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Ronald Reagan displaces approximately 95,000 tons of water fully loaded, has a top speed of over 30 knots, and can sail for over 20 years before needing to refuel. She is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall at 1,092 feet. The ship carries more than 5,500 sailors and over 80 aircraft.

During her maiden deployment, Ronald Reagan conducted operations in support of the continuing war on terror. From January 4 to July 6, 2006, she was at the western Pacific and Persian Gulf, participating in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and Exercise Valiant Shield 2006. She was awarded the 2006 Battle “E” for West Coast carriers.

January 27 to April 20, 2007 saw Ronald Reagan on a three-month western Pacific deployment to fill in for USS Kitty Hawk which underwent scheduled maintenance in Japan. On December 15, 2007, she answered a distress call from a cruise ship off the coast of Baja California. A teenager with a ruptured appendix was airlifted by an SH-60 helicopter to the carrier, where an emergency appendectomy was performed by Navy medical personnel.

USS George Washington CVN-73 Model

USS George Washington (CVN-73) is the sixth Nimitz class nuclear-powered supercarrier, and the fourth ship of the US Navy to be named after the first president of the United States. She was laid down on August 25, 1986; launched on July 21, 1990; and commissioned on July 4, 1992.

George Washington is 1,092 feet long, 257 feet wide, and is as high as a 24-story building at 244 feet. The supercarrier can accommodate approximately 80 aircraft and 6,250 crewmembers. There are over 2,500 compartments on board requiring 2,520 tons of air conditioning capacity, enough to cool over 2,000 homes. Her four distilling units can make 400,000 gallons of potable water each day and her food service divisions serve 18,000 meals per day.

Since commissioning, George Washington has made six Mediterranean Sea/Persian Gulf deployments. In 1994, during her maiden deployment, she served as the backdrop for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. In 1996, she was host to a historic meeting of the Joint Military Commission composed of the military leaders of the Former Warring Factions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also played a vital peacekeeping role in Operation Decisive Endeavor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and enforced the no-fly zone over Southern Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch.

On September 6, George Washington was presented with the 2000 Battenberg Cup, which was awarded annually to the Atlantic Fleet ship or submarine with the greatest crew accomplishments during the previous calendar year. It was the second time the ship had won the award; the first time was in 1997. The crew also accepted the Flatley Award for aircraft carriers with the best aviation safety record. On June 23, George Washington was presented with the 2002 Battenberg Cup for the third time.

On September 13, 2004, GW sailors returned to sea to perform carrier qualifications, conduct training drills and fine tune their warfighting skills, in order to keep the surge carrier in top form if the need to deploy should arise. On November 3, 2004, George Washington welcomed Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122) “Flying Eagles”, the Fleet Replacement Squadron for the Navy’s newest fighter, the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. It was the first time the fighters had been launched and recovered on the carrier.

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, multi mission and tactical aircraft designed for the offensive, both ground and aerial targets.

The F/A-18A entered service on September 13, 1978 and its maiden flight was on November 18. The first production of F/A-18A flew on April 12, 1980. The F/A-18 first saw combat action in April 1986, the time during operation Prairie Fire, when VFA-131 Hornets from USS Coral Sea flew SEAD missions against Libyan air defenses.

The aircraft has an M611A1 20-mm gun mounted inside the nose of the craft and carries up to 13,700 pounds of external ordinance and has nine weapon stations.

The F/A-18 fulfills these assignments: fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, forward air control, close air support and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18A has a maximum speed of 1,190 mph at 40,000 ft. and has a ferry range of 2,070 mi. The F/A-18 utilizes various systems and technologies to minimize the likelihood of detection. It has an APG-73 with increased speed and memory capacity. It also has a laser target designator/ranger which enables it to deliver precision laser-guided bombs accurately.

In 2001, four F/A-18A aircrafts were deployed to Diego Garcia during coalition operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The F/A-18 has been deployed by the armed services to the United States (Navy an Marines), Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Finland, Switzerland and Malaysia.