{"id":63732,"date":"2026-03-01T22:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T21:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=63732"},"modified":"2026-07-13T22:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:11:14","slug":"the-weaponry-of-united-states-navy-fighters-in-operation-epic-fury-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2026\/03\/01\/the-weaponry-of-united-states-navy-fighters-in-operation-epic-fury-in-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"The weaponry of United States Navy fighters in Operation Epic Fury in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States Navy is playing a key role in Operation Epic Fury, launched yesterday against the Iranian dictatorship.<\/p>\n

The US Navy shows the aircraft from Operation Epic Fury against the Iranian dictatorship<\/a><\/rel>
\nEA-18G Growler, the US and Australian plane that fights in the electromagnetic spectrum<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

The United States has deployed two aircraft carriers to the area:<\/strong> the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), of the Nimitz class, and the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the first of its class. Yesterday we saw the first official photos released by the US Navy about that operation<\/a>, and today we're going to review a more specific issue: the weaponry used by the US Navy's F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet fighters in this operation<\/strong>, based on the official photos being released on DVIDShub.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

An armorer (wearing a red vest) placing an AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile<\/strong> on a port wing underwing pylon of an F\/A-18E Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 37 (VFA-37) \"Ragin Bulls\" aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. It is an infrared-guided missile, meaning it detects the heat signature of enemy aircraft propulsion. This missile has been in service with the US Navy and Air Force since 2003.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Two gunners are seen loading an AIM-9X Sidewinder onto an F\/A-18E Super Hornet<\/strong> of Strike Fighter Squadron 31 (VFA-31) \"Tomcatters\" aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. The image shows the starboard wingtip pylon, where the missile would likely be mounted. VFA-31 already participated in the naval deployment for the capture of dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in Venezuela<\/a> in late 2025 and early 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

An armorer securing an AIM-9X missile to the port wingtip pylon of an F\/A-18E Super Hornet<\/strong> of Strike Fighter Squadron 87 (VFA-87) \"Golden Warriors\" aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. This image shows the yellow cowling that protects the missile's infrareed guide before takeoff. The AIM-9X carries a 9.36 kg warhead of high-explosive fragmentation component, designed to detonate near the enemy aircraft and cause multiple fuselage damage.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Two armorers attaching an AIM-9X missile to the outer underwing pylon on the starboard side of an F\/A-18E Super Hornet<\/strong> of VFA-37 \"Ragin Bulls\" aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. The red \"Remove before flight\" label is visible on the missile's warhead, along with the yellow cowling that protects the infrarred guide. The AIM-9X can reach a speed of Mach 2.5 (3,087 km\/h)<\/strong> and has an effective range of over 16 kilometers.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Armorers from Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) lifting an AIM-120C AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile<\/strong> next to an F\/A-18E Super Hornet from VFA-31 on the flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford. There are two other identical missiles on the transport cart. We see the yellow cowling that protects the missile's nozzle (where the rocket motor's jet is expelled). At the other end of the missile, we see the red hood that protects the missile's radar radome. The AIM-120 has a warhead consisting of between 18.1 kg and 20.4 kg (depending on the variant) of high-explosive fragmentation component. This missile is guided by an active radar and an inertial navigation system.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Five armorers from CVW-8 transport an AIM-120C missile to one of the fuselage hardpoints of an F\/A-18E Super Horne<\/strong>t of VFA-37 \"Ragin Bulls\" aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. The AIM-120 weighs 152 kg. A Super Hornet can carry up to 12 of these missiles, although the usual configuration on escort flights is 7 AIM-120s and 2 AIM-9s. The AIM-120C can reach a speed of Mach 4 (over 4,900 km\/h)<\/strong> and has a range of between 100 and 160 km, depending on the variant.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

An F\/A-18E Super Hornet of Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) \"Tophatters\"<\/strong>, number 200, about to be launched from one of the steam catapults of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). On its starboard wing, we see two AIM-9X air-to-air missiles<\/strong> (one on the wingtip pylon and the other on the outer underwing pylon) and two AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) glide bombs<\/strong> on its inner underwing pylons. The JSOW, in service since 1998, has a range of between 22 and 130 km (depending on the altitude at which it is launched) and has different warheads weighing up to 225 kg, depending on the variant.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

An F\/A-18F Super Hornet of Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41) \"Black Aces\"<\/strong> prepared for launch from the USS Abraham Lincoln. We see the same weapons configuration as in the previous photo, with two JSOWs under the starboard wing. These bombs were possibly used to attack fortified targets<\/strong>, as their AGM-154C variant has a two-stage warhead specifically designed to destroy bunkers.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

An impressive image of 24 GBU-38 JDAM bombs ready for deployment on Super Hornet fighter jets<\/strong> on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. These bombs are equipped with a 500 lb (227 kg) BLU-111\/B general-purpose warhead containing PBXN-109 high explosive.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Another image of GBU-38 JDAM bombs on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.<\/strong> The JDAM kit for these bombs combines inertial navigation and a GPS receiver, with a range of 28 km. This kit converts conventional bombs into highly accurate smart bombs.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Three GBU-31(V) JDAM precision bombs ready to be loaded onto an F\/A-18F Super Hornet<\/strong> of VFA-41 \"Black Aces\" aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. The GBU-31(V) JDAM has a 907 kg warhead. The US Navy uses two variants: the general-purpose GBU-31(V)2\/B against unarmored targets and the GBU-31(V)4\/B for penetrating concrete bunkers.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

We conclude with this image of armorers from Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) preparing the ammunition load for the M61A2 Vulcan cannon of an F\/A-18E Super Hornet fighter<\/strong> from VFA-31 \"Tomcatters\" aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. The M61A2 Vulcan is a 20mm Gatling-type cannon with six barrels. It is located in the nose of the aircraft, between the radar and the cockpit. The Super Hornet can carry up to 412 rounds for this cannon.<\/strong> The standard ammunition is the PGU-28\/B, a SAPHEI (armor-piercing, high-explosive, incendiary) round. The Super Hornet's M61A2 does not typically use tracer rounds<\/strong>, as the aircraft's fire control system calculates firing solutions without the need for visual aids to make corrections.<\/strong><\/p>\n

---<\/p>\n

Photos: U.S. Navy.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States Navy is playing a key role in Operation Epic Fury, launched yesterday against the Iranian dictatorship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19534,11545],"tags":[26005,6616,6615,6612,26003,26363,19682,26376,822,26360,26004,26002,17321,26000,10431,319,12355,13226],"class_list":["post-63732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-defense-portada-eng","category-navy","tag-agm-154-joint-standoff-weapon-jsow","tag-aim-120-amraam","tag-aim-9-sidewinder","tag-boeing-fa-18ef-super-hornet","tag-carrier-air-wing-eight-cvw-8","tag-carrier-air-wing-nine-cvw-9","tag-gbu-31-jdam","tag-gbu-38-jdam","tag-iran","tag-operation-epic-fury","tag-strike-fighter-squadron-31-vfa-31-tomcatters","tag-strike-fighter-squadron-37-vfa-37-ragin-bulls","tag-vf-41-black-aces","tag-strike-fighter-squadron-87-vfa-87-golden-warrriors","tag-united-states","tag-us-navy","tag-uss-abraham-lincoln-cvn-72","tag-uss-gerald-r-ford-cvn-78"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-11 21:13:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}