050913-F-5480T-016

A US Navy (USN) F/A-18F Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41), Black Aces, Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, California (CA), conducts a mission over the Persian Gulf. The Hornet is armed with an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile on the wingtip and an AGM-65 Maverick missile on the pylon. Tucked under the intake is an AAQ-14 LANTIRN (Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting InfraRed for Night) pod. Also under the fuselage, a 370-gallon External Fuel Tank. The VFA-41 is currently embarked aboard the USN Aircraft Carrier USS NIMITZ (CVN 68). The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is currently on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).