_112_launches_from_the_Nimitz-class_aircra.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.
Every helicopter and plane aboard a US aircraft carrier explained
Four of the eight squadrons and one detachment aboard a carrier wing fly F-18s in either one or two seat varieties.
The plane serves a dual purpose as a "both a fighter and an attack airplane," meaning it can engage enemy aircraft with "all the different types of missiles and weapons systems," as well as hitting all targets on the ground.
"For the attack role, they can shoot almost all weapons in the US inventory," Capt. Rich ‘Snap’ Brophy, the commander of Carrier Air Wing 9, told the US Naval Institute.
Though it looks almost identical to the F-18, the E/A-18G Growler has a totally different role.
"Anytime a radar sets off any type of signal, this airplane is able to pick up that signal, classify it, locate it, and hopefully target it if it needs to," Brophy explains.
Brophy describes the E-2 as the "quarterback in the sky." The large propeller-driven plane carries a giant radar on top and shares that information with the entire strike group.
"They help link one warfare commander to the other commanders and really help ensure that the picture is fused across all the various warfare commanders," Brophy said.
The C-2's main role is as a transport plane. These planes bring in much-needed supplies and personnel on and off board. Brophy said the C-2 is "vital for what we do, logistics is key to the success of an air wing."
The MH-60 Sierra can be used as a utility helicopter, bringing people and freight where they need to be. Or it "can also be heavily outfitted."
Brophy said the Sierra can be armed with door-mounted machine guns, rockets, guided or unguided, forward-firing weapons in the case that SEALs need to be deployed or a downed aviator needs to be picked up.
The other helicopter variant aboard the carrier is the MH-60 Romeo, primarily used for anti-surface warfare.
"It's got a phenomenal radar that can see vast ranges, locate, classify, identify, and then ultimately target any type of ship that's out there," Brophy said.
Additionally, the MH-60 can hunt submarines by spotting periscopes from incredible distances and placing listening devices above or below the surface of the sea.
Advertisement