‘Ike’ strikes

US Navy air power has played a crucial role in Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, most recently underpinned by the USS Dwight D Eisenhower (C VN 69). Ioannis Lekkas joins the embarked Carrier Air Wing 3 ‘Battle Axe’ to discover how crews notched up an impressive sortie tally to help suppor t missions countering the so-called Islamic State. F/A-18C BuNo 165221/’AC-300’ of VFA-131 ‘Wildcats’ blasts off from the ‘Eisenhower’ during operations in the Mediterranean in December. Ioannis Lekkas