Navy News
Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.
Top deck – RN fighter pilot flies Super Hornets on exchange with US carriers
23 August 2024
Royal Navy officer Fraser Nadine is enjoying the flying opportunity of a lifetime as a fast-jet pilot with the US Navy.
The 33-year-old lieutenant – callsign Spuddle – is flying F/A18 Super Hornets on and off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.
Fraser completed his basic aviation training here in the UK and then volunteered for an exchange programme in the USA.
After completing basic fast-jet training and mastering the F/A18 – backbone of the US Navy’s carrier strike force – he’s now serving with Strike Fighter Squadron 192 (VFA-192, nicknamed ‘The Golden Dragons’) either at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California or, from the deck of the Vinson when deployed.
“The flying is awesome,” Fraser enthused. “You’re above Death Valley and huge swathes of the country in airspace set aside just for your training which is amazing.
“If you get out at weekends then three hours in any direction is world-class: mountains, coast, vineyards, LA, San Francisco, so you just have to make the most of it.”
When not at base, the Golden Dragons are one of nine squadrons in Carrier Air Wing 2, assigned to the USS Carl Vinson – home to around 5,000 other personnel.
Aircrew can expect two sorties a day – anything from bombing/maritime strike missions to defensive combat air patrol and air-to-air refuelling training with tankers – as well as additional duties.
Fraser flies the F/A18-E Super Hornet, a single seat strike fighter capable of reaching one and a half times the speed of sound and delivering ordnance – air-to-air, air-to-ship, air-to-ground, missiles, bombs, guided bombs, mines – on to a target up to 500 miles from the carrier.
Unlike the F-35Bs on UK flight decks, the Super Hornet is launched by catapult – not used by the Royal Navy in nearly half a century.
“It’s incredible,” Fraser says. “You tell the Shooter – the catapult officer – what the weight of your jet is, and they will tune in the correct power setting. Then you’ll go from sitting still on the catapult to 200 miles an hour in under two seconds. Then you’re straight into the mission mindset from there.”
Much more daunting, says Fraser, is a night launch.
“It’s pitch black, you can’t see anything other than with the aid of a tiny finger light to check all your switches, just trying to get yourself settled,” he explained. “You dim everything and are then shot into pitch darkness.
“Imagine no moon, it’s just a void, and you’re trusting your instruments because all you see is the waterline symbol, the velocity vector, and the horizon line. As long as airspeed is increasing and you’re above the horizon you’re good.”
The Brit has trained extensively so far with the ship and squadron. No training has been more intense than the US Navy’s premier workout in the Pacific, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) which this year drew in 40 warships, three submarines, 25,000 personnel from more than two dozen nations – threw their hats into the ring for the three weeks of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024.
RIMPAC was insane. We conducted dissimilar air combat training with Typhoons, Hawker Hunters and A-10s [the Americans’ much feared ‘Warthog’ ground attack aircraft] which was pretty interesting, as is the sortie count.
While there were no major Royal Navy assets committed, the RAF did send two P8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to join the largest naval exercise in the Indo-Pacific region.
“RIMPAC was insane. We conducted dissimilar air combat training with Typhoons, Hawker Hunters and A-10s [the Americans’ much feared ‘Warthog’ ground attack aircraft] which was pretty interesting, as is the sortie count.
“We carried out some strike sorties, including sink exercises. We also got a ten-day run ashore in Hawaii.”
As a Brit – his wears the Union Jack on his flying suit – Fraser realises he “stands out like a sore thumb… But everyone’s very welcoming and on July 4th everyone wants to host the Brit.”
When he eventually returns to the Fleet Air Arm, he intends to share his experiences to smooth any Anglo-American carrier link-ups in future.
“Those who come across to the US have a wide variety of experience with the aim of bringing that knowledge back to the UK for the benefit of our own carrier aviation,” Fraser explained.
“The big deck experience is not something which can be replicated with our carriers – the way they conduct their flight operations is vastly different.
“But when I go back to the UK any integration with the US will be far easier.”
Thanks to Hollywood – notably the two Top Gun films – Fraser doesn’t have to do much to explain his job, although unsurprisingly it is not like in the movies.
we can’t do a story about a fast-jet pilot on a US carrier without asking the obvious question. Is it ‘just like Top Gun’?
“Life on a squadron is very busy during the day and then everyone goes back and watches a movie and goes to bed, rinse, repeat for nine months,” the Briton said.
“The public’s perception? When you meet the public, they’re very excited.”