Last night a coalition made up of forces from the CVW-11 and ECV56 flew a joint operation against the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in response to North Korea's repeated threats to continue its underground nuclear weapons testing and long range ballistic missile tests.
Planning for the operation had been intense and involved pilots from the VFA-41 Black Aces and the VFA-14 Tophatters, as well as ECV56 pilots from Argentina and Spain.
Coalition F/A-18E fighter aircraft flying from the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan conducted a MiGSWEEP to clear the sky of any air opposition. Early reports are that at least 20 enemy aircraft were shot down. A coalition spokeman reported that their forces ran into heavy opposition and that four coalition aircraft did not return from the mission. Search and rescue operations are currently underway to locate the missing pilots. One of the returning fighter aircraft was heavily damaged, but managed to land safely. No aircraft were lost to friendly-fire.
Hours later coalition forces flew a counter-air strike mission against a heavily defended North Korean airbase. Six F/A-18E Super Hornets successful bombed targets at the airbase, destroying several hangers, the control tower, and fuel storage tanks. At least eight enemy fighters on the ground were also destroyed. Escort aircraft shot down twelve enemy fighters and destroyed several enemy surface-to-air missile batteries.
It was noted that the flight leader lost communications shortly after take off. However, the coalition spokesman stated the strike aircraft were able to continue the mission as planned, and attributed this to the professionalism and discipline of the pilots involved.
Again, it was reported that four coalition aircraft did not return from the mission. Search and rescue operations are currently underway to locate the missing pilots. At least one aircraft is known to have crashed near the task force. Another pilot was said to have had difficulty during his approach to the carrier, but landed safely. No aircraft were lost to friendly-fire.
The coalition spokesman would not say whether future joint operations against North Korea are being planned.
