Tri-Service

Landing On The Flight Deck Of The USS Eisenhower

It is an unforgettable experience. Landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier at 100 miles per hour aboard a US Navy aircraft.

We’d expected to be flown out to the Dwight D. Eisenhower by helicopter. Instead, as our bus took us out to the runway at the US Navy's 5th Fleet Aviation Unit in Bahrain, we were met by a C2 Greyhound, the workhorse of the Carrier Strike Group.

Once strapped in, the aircraft fills with a misty vapour. Apparently it is perfectly normal. But with only two tiny windows for light it only adds to the alien atmosphere inside.

Once airborne, we fly out into the northern Arabian Gulf. Eventually the giant bulk of the Eisenhower comes into view. 95,000 tons of US sovereign territory filled to the brim with the world's most advanced military hardware.

We are told to hang forward in our straps as our pilots glide us towards the carrier. Seconds later we - quite literally - hit the deck. As we hook the arrestor wire we're catapulted forward in our seats, our chests straining against the harness, as the C2 stops dead. We are down.

A carrier flight deck has to be among the most dangerous places on earth. As the back door of our plane slowly lowers an F-18 fighter jet appears, its nose so close it feels like you could touch it.

This isn't like any other airfield I’ve ever seen. For one, the temperature is indescribable. A mix of baking Arabian sun and jet fuel means the heat index today is 130 – about as high as it gets.

The other stark contrast is just how close everyone works to the aircraft. They duck under wings and blasting engines as the jets weave down the deck toward the runway. Petty Officer Carlos Vargos tells me:

"From the outside it looks like chaos, but it’s organised chaos."

He’s one of the 'yellow shirts': the aircraft handlers who guide the jets into position on the deck. Alongside them there are 'red shirts', who handle fuel and ammunition; the 'brown shirts', or 'plane captains', who watch over each plane; and the 'green shirts', who operate the steam catapult and arrestor wires which trap the aircraft as they land - what the US Navy calls a 'recovery'.

The Ike, as they call it, is enormous. With more than 5,000 crew, she is essentially a floating town. From barber shops to supermarkets, it's all here. They even have a branch of Starbucks. We're met by a full media team who have their own TV studio on board.

"We do a regular show from here which is very popular," they tell us.

There are seven squadrons on board this ship, with nearly 70 aircraft of all types, from $57m F/A 18 Hornet and Super Hornets, to MH-60 Seahawks.

The Ike is also home to a squadron of E2-C Hawkeye - the 'Screwtops' - who provide early warning and command and control for the carrier strike group.

Unlike RAF aircraft. which are de-badged before operational missions, the US Navy jets are emblazoned with their squadron names – the 'Gunslingers', 'Fighting Swordsmen' and the 'Sidewinders'.

Down below, in the Eisenhower’s three vast hangars, they can store up to 27 fast jets plus dozens of helicopters. Also parked here are rows of 500lb laser-guided bombs which the US is using on Daesh targets in Iraq and Syria.

The man in charge of this ship is Captain Paul Spedero Jr, a former Top Gun instructor. We meet in the ship's luxurious wardroom.

One of Dwight D. Eisenhower's 'yellow jackets'

The walls are adorned with pictures of former President Dwight D Eisenhower, from historic photos on the eve of D-Day, to a framed copy of the letter his father sent in 1911 giving permission for the then 21-year-old Ike to enter West Point.

Through the ceiling you can hear a constant thump as jets land on the deck above. The tempo is relentless. More than 100 aircraft a day thunder off the runway - on average around 18 of them on combat missions, mostly to provide air cover for Iraqi ground forces.

"It’s a very busy schedule. We’re only one element of the overall campaign, in fact there’s 19 nations involved in the fight," says Capt Spedero.

"Our job is to provide combat sorties to that effort, primarily close air support and some deliberate strikes as well in to Iraq and Syria. Up to this point the airstrikes have been very successful."