#vfa 106

Ghostly Gladiator....

ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 29, 2020) -- An F/A-18F Super Hornet attack/fighter jet, attached to the "Gladiators" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106, launches off United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during routine night flight training operations

  An F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA 106....in a less ghostly setting.

                    USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) in the sunshine.

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>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin, USN

Look....no hands!

An F/A-18E Super Hornet launches from the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during routine pilot carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean.

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)....with USS George Washington (CVN 73) in the background

The U.S. Navy has mastered the art of launching aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier over the past almost-century. 

The old-fashioned steam catapults used for launching aircraft are about to be replaced aboard new aircraft carriers with an electromagnetic launch system (EMALS)....beginning with the nearly-complete USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), going into commission with the Navy fleet later in 2017.

                             USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) on sea trials

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