Commander announces US initiating ‘largest-ever strike from aircraft carrier’
(MENAFN) The U.S. Navy carried out its largest-ever airstrike from an aircraft carrier earlier this year, according to Admiral James Kilby, acting chief of naval operations. Speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations event in Washington, Kilby revealed that the USS Harry S. Truman and its carrier strike group launched a 125,000-pound bombing mission—the largest of its kind in history—from a single carrier.
A defense official later confirmed to Business Insider that the airstrike took place on February 1 and involved 16 F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets. The target was militant groups in Somalia, where U.S. Africa Command has conducted 25 airstrikes since January against Islamic State (IS) and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab.
The USS Truman, which was deployed to the Middle East last fall, has since left the Red Sea to join NATO exercises in the Mediterranean before returning to its home port in Norfolk, Virginia.
During its time in the Red Sea, the Truman played a significant role in countering Houthi attacks on maritime shipping near Yemen. Over six months, the carrier strike group carried out 670 strikes and intercepted about 160 Houthi drones and missiles. Kilby emphasized that while the Houthis are not a major global power like China, they still pose a serious threat to U.S. naval operations.
The deployment was not without complications. In December, one of the group’s warships mistakenly shot down an American F/A-18 jet in a suspected friendly fire incident. More recently, in April, an F/A-18 and a tow tractor were lost overboard as the ship dodged a potential Houthi attack. Earlier in May, a malfunction in the carrier’s arresting gear system caused another $60 million F/A-18 to fall into the sea during a landing attempt.
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