VF-103
Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (VFA-103), nicknamed the Jolly Rogers, is an aviation unit of the United States Navy established in 1952. VFA-103 flies the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and is based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia (US). The squadron's radio callsign is ''Victory'' and it is assigned to Carrier Air Wing Seven. Insignia and nicknames The original VF-103 squadron insignia was a cloverleaf, and the aircraft tailfins had a horizontal yellow arrow outlined in black. Later a stylized aircraft darting through the leaf was added, along with a baseball bat. The baseball bat stemmed from an early skipper who often carried one with him. In 1991, VF-103's aircraft used the squadron insignia for tail-art, in place of the bold arrow. When the ''Sluggers'' became the ''Jolly Rogers'' following the disestablishment of VF-84 (1955–95), they adopted the famous white skull-and-crossbones. The ''Jolly Rogers'' have always displayed some of the most recognizable squadron ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grumman F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the General Dynamics–Grumman F-111B, General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. A large and well-equipped fighter, the F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating aerial warfare, air combat experience against smaller, more maneuverable List of Mikoyan and MiG aircraft, MiG fighters during the Vietnam War. The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970 and made its first deployment in 1974 with the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier , replacing the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The F-14 served as the U.S. Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor aircraft, interceptor, and tac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger was the England, ensign flown by a piracy, pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the latter part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The vast majority of such flags flew the motif of a human skull, or “Death's Head”, often accompanied by other elements, on a black field, sometimes called the ''"Death's Head flag"'' or just the ''"black flag"''. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger todaythe skull and crossbones (symbol), skull and crossbones symbol on a black flagwas used during the 1710s by a number of pirate captains, including Samuel Bellamy, Edward England, and John Taylor (pirate), John Taylor. It became the most commonly used pirate flag during the 1720s, although other designs were also in use. Etymology Use of the term ''Jolly Roger'' in reference to pirate flags goes back to at least Charles Johnson (pirate biographer), Charles Johnson's ''A General History of the Pyrates,'' published in Britain in 1724 a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Achille Lauro Hijacking
The ''Achille Lauro'' hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. A 69-year-old Jewish-American man in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard. The hijacking sparked the " Sigonella Crisis". Background Palestine Liberation Organization After the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was driven out of Jordan in 1970 and Southern Lebanon and Beirut in 1978 and 1982, respectively, PLO guerrillas had dispersed (under international guarantees of safety) to Tunisia, Yemen, Southern Yemen, Algeria, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and the Sudan. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, PLO chairman Yasser Arafat had run into problems with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who in 1983 sought to wrest effective control of the group from him by backing a mutiny within the PLO. Arafat was backed by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vought F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based Air superiority fighter, air superiority jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had Cannon#Aircraft use, guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".Barrett Tillman, Tillman 1990, .Weaver 2018, p. 63. Development of the F-8 commenced after release of the requirement for a new fighter by the United States Navy in September 1952. Vought's design team, led by John Russell Clark, produced the ''V-383'', a relatively unorthodox fighter that possessed an innovative high-mounted variable-incidence wing, an area rule, area-ruled fuselage, all-moving stabilators, Leading-edge extension#Dogtooth extension, dog-tooth notching at the wing folds for improved Aircraft principal axes#Vertical axis (yaw), yaw stability, and liberal use of titanium throughout the airframe. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Close Air Support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of all forces involved. CAS may be conducted using aerial bombs, glide bombs, missiles, rockets, autocannons, machine guns, and even directed-energy weapons such as lasers.''Close Air Support''. United States Department of Defense, 2014. The requirement for detailed integration because of proximity, fires or movement is the determining factor. CAS may need to be conducted during shaping operations with special forces if the mission requires detailed integration with the fire and movement of those forces. A closely related subset of air interdiction, battlefield air interdiction, denotes interdiction against units with near-term effects on friendly units, but which does not ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Operation Inherent Resolve
{{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Operation Inherent Resolve , partof = the international military intervention against the Islamic State and the War on terror , image = , caption = U.S. Navy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F/A-18F Super Hornets of VFA-22 take off from {{USS, Carl Vinson, CVN-70, 6 to support U.S. efforts for Operation Inherent Resolve in October 2014. , date = 15 June 2014 – ''present'' ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=15, year1=2014) *Iraq: 15 June 2014 – 9 December 2021({{Age in months, weeks and days, year1=2014, month1=06, day1=15, year2=2021, month2=12, day2=09) *Iraq (By DOD Directive): 31 January 2023 - 31 December 2024({{Age in months, weeks and days, year1=2023, month1=01, day1=31, year2=2024, month2=12, day2=31) *Syria: 22 September 2014 – ''present'' ({{Age in months, weeks and days, year1=2014, month1=09, day1=22) *Libya: 13 November 2015 – 30 October 201 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fighter Squadron 103 (US Navy) Insignia C1966
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, a person legally entitled to participate in hostilities during an armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed primarily for air-to-air combat ** Fighter pilot, a military aviator who pilots a fighter aircraft * Martial artist, a person who practices martial arts * Soldier, a person who is member of an army * Warrior, a person specializing in combat or warfare Film and television * The Fighter (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Henry Kolker * ''The Fighters'' (1939 film), a Soviet drama film directed by Eduard Pentslin * ''The Fighter'' (1952 film), an American film noir boxing film directed by Herbert Kline * ''The Fighters'' (1974 film), a documentary film directed by Rick Baxter and William Greaves * ''The Fighter'' (1983 film), a television movie starring Gregory Harrison and Glynnis O'Connor * ''Fighter'', a 1995 unrealized Indian film by Sanjay Gupta, starting Akshaye Khanna ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The state's List of capitals in the United States, capital is Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach. Its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, part of Northern Virginia, where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of more than 8.8million live. Eastern Virginia is part of the Atlantic Plain, and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont, the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Naval Air Station Oceana
Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The station is located on 23.9 square kilometers. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 million in plant replacement value. The total Navy community (which includes spouses) numbers around 20,000 people. The base is under the jurisdiction of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and is the headquarters of Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic and Carrier Air Wing 1, Carrier Air Wings 1, Carrier Air Wing Three, 3, Carrier Air Wing Seven, 7 and Carrier Air Wing Eight, 8. As home to all East Coast strike fighter jet squadrons, the Naval Air Station is classified as a master jet base. The airfield is known as Apollo Soucek Field, named after Lieutenant (later Admiral) Apollo Soucek, a Navy test pilot who set the global altitude record in 1930 by flying a Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Curtiss ''"Hawk"'' biplane to an altitude of 43,166 feet. Con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The Super Hornet is in service with the armed forces of the United States, Australia, and Kuwait. The F/A-18E single-seat and F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced versions of the F/A-18C and D Hornet, respectively. A strike fighter capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground/surface missions, the Super Hornet has an internal 20mm M61A2 rotary cannon and can carry air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and a variety of other weapons. Additional fuel can be carried in up to five external fuel tanks and the aircraft can be configured as an airborne tanker by adding an external air-to-air refueling system. Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet first flew in 1995. Low-rate production began in early 1997, reaching full-rate production in Septem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with List of aircraft carriers in service, eleven in service, one undergoing trials, two new carriers under construction, and six other carriers planned as of 2024. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 299 deployable combat vessels and about 4,012 operational aircraft as of 18 July 2023. The U.S. Navy is one of six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of eight uniformed services of the United States. The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twinjet, twin-engine, Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The Super Hornet is in service with the armed forces of the United States, Australia, and Kuwait. The F/A-18E single-seat and F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced versions of the F/A-18C and D Hornet, respectively. A strike fighter capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground/surface missions, the Super Hornet has an internal 20mm M61 Vulcan, M61A2 rotary cannon and can carry air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and a variety of other weapons. Additional fuel can be carried in up to five external fuel tanks and the aircraft can be configured as an airborne tanker by adding an external Aerial refueling, air-to-air refueling system. Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet first flew in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |