Tag Archives: CVW -17

Uncle Chester makes final (scheduled) overseas portcall

Posted on by Leave a comment

Nimitz off Jamaica with local dignitaries aboard, a VF-137 F-18E blisters by in the background (U.S. Navy photo)

The oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world, USS Nimitz (CVN 68), along with her the embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17), escorting tin can USS Gridley (DDG 101), and the MSC-manned replenishment oiler USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201), left Bremerton as CSG-11 on the morning of 7 March, bound for Norfolk where the flattop will begin her long decommissioning evolution which is set for March 2027.

Nimitz’s past three months have been busy with just about every maritime force in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of the 11th iteration of Operation South Seas, one of the few times that 4th Fleet has had a CVSG on the payroll for more than a couple of weeks.

Nimitz is set to call at Kingston for the next five days, leaving on 5 June for Norfolk.

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) pulls alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a sea power demo in the Atlantic Ocean, May 23, 2026. Gridley is deployed with Nimitz Carrier Strike Group as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Frankie M. Guage)

Traveling light

For the record, Nimitz’s final carrier wing, CVW-17, includes the MH-60R/S Sea Hawks of Helicopter Maritime Squadron (HSM) 73 “Battlecats” and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 “Indians,” a C-2A Greyhound det of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, two squadrons of F -18E/F Super Hornets (Fighting Redcocks of VFA-22 and the Kestrels of VFA-137), and the EA-18G Growlers of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139 “Cougars.”

She is traveling light and is missing her typical third and fourth Rhino squadrons (VFA-94 and VFA-146) as well as her E-2C Hawkeye AEW det of VAW-121 and CV-22 det of VRM-30, all left behind in California at NAS Lemoore.

What about Cuba?

However, if the Cuban question arises, and, if tasked, even just her two squadrons of Rhinos, with the road cleared by the Growlers, would be more than a match for the Defensa Anti-Aérea y Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria’s 50~ MiG-29UB/A, MiG-23ML/UB, and MiG-21MF/bis fighters, most of which are considered non-operational, while the country’s air defense is via 1970s-era S-125M/M1 Pechora/SA-3 Goa SAMs.

What could prove more of a pucker factor for CVSG-11 is Cuba’s rumored 300 Iranian and Russian drones.   

Plus, the 24th MEU, operating under the designation of Littoral Combat Force-24, has just “officially assumed the mission as the premier tactical force-in-readiness within the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility,” in support of Operation Southern Spear, based out of Rosie Roads. While without a big-deck LHD/A to call home, they do have the 25,000-ton USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) at their disposal.

Plus, the extra room on the Nimitz flight deck could be used to help airmail the 24th MEU to GTMO if needed. It’s been done before. USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) in 1993 worked up with (most) of her airwing and an SPMAGTF consisting of a Marine rifle company, a command staff, and various detachments, including an 18-man reconnaissance platoon; and a heavy helicopter squadron with a component from a utility and at­tack helicopter squadron, totaling 538 Marines, including 227 aviation personnel.

Not wishing things would turn hot in the Caribbean.

Just saying.

Probably just gunboat diplomacy, which is really what every MEU and CVSG is all about, anyway, right?

I mean, they even put Cuba on the patch.

The official logo for Southern Seas 2026. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) will deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility as part of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2026 deployment. Southern Seas aims to enhance regional maritime partnerships, interoperability, and security throughout the Caribbean, Central, and South America. (U.S. Navy graphic illustration by Ensign Paul Archer)

Flying yesterday’s Hornet, today

Posted on by Leave a comment

The Blues have been tearing it up across the country lately, making up scheduled hours canceled along with this summer’s air shows by performing with the Thunderbirds over the nation’s urban centers in a salute to healthcare workers.

For instance, over Chicago this week:

They have never looked better, you could argue, and thousands who haven’t seen them in action before are now getting a chance, which is no doubt good for recruiting efforts– one of the primary reasons demonstration programs exist.

HOUSTON (May 6, 2020) The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, fly over Houston, Texas, May 6, 2020. The flyover was part of America Strong; a collaborative salute from the Navy and Air Force to recognize healthcare workers, first responders, military, and other essential personnel while standing in solidarity with all Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Cody Hendrix/Released)

However, most folks don’t realize just how old these birds are. Like Desert Storm/32 years on the airframe old.

The closest Hornet above, BuNo 163435, is an early Lot 10 F/A-18C— the first block that saw the Charlie birds introduced– produced in 1988. It formerly flew in the Fleet with the Sunliners of VFA-81 on a number of deployments including during Desert Storm where the squadron downed a pair of Saddam’s MiG-21s.

A Sundowners’ Lot 10 F-18C, BuNo 163471, then assigned to Carrier Air Wing One Seven (CVW -17), climbs to an assigned altitude after completing a catapult launch from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) in 2002. The squadron shifted to Rhinos in 2006, leaving their well-used Charle Hornets to go to the Marines and the Blues. This particular Hornet, while flying with the Sharpshooters of VMFAT-101, crashed following hydraulic problem 3 miles east of MCAS Miramar, in 2006. (U.S. Navy photo by Captain Dana Potts.)

Besides the above instance, the Blues operate several other aircraft from the same lot, including BuNo 163442, 163464, and 163468. They are slated to upgrade to F-18E/Fs next year, at which point the F-18C/D will only be operated by the Marines, long used to being the last to fly a NAVAIR asset.

Outside of the Blues, the alumni aircraft are commonly only seen on static display. For reference, several other Lot 10s have been relegated to museum pieces for years, with BuNo 163437 as a gate guard at Norfolk, 163498 on display at Naval Reserve Station Smyrna, and 163502 on the grounds of the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola.