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Live From...
Virtual Tour of USS Abraham Lincoln
Aired April 15, 2003 - 13:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well after spending a month aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf, can you believe I'm ready to go back aboard? Well, I am, and you're coming with me. But this time, no gas masks or life jackets required. Major General Don Shepperd is here with me to sort of assist us on a virtual tour.
Good to see you. Nice to be back.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we've got to give credit to Miles O'Brien.
SHEPPERD: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: This is his baby, OK? He's talked us into doing this. So, we'll start out with the F-14, how appropriate, the Tomcatters. The guys that I spent time with on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
SHEPPERD: Yes, looking at the Tomcat, I tell you. And here comes a EA-6B Prowler, we're going to follow the EA-6B in for a landing, lining up on the deck.
PHILLIPS: Got the fueling probe.
SHEPPERD: Fueling probe sticking out front there. And he's got to go in and to try to land on the deck. This is an electronic jamming aircraft. He's going on board the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 nuclear carrier, one of the great carriers of the United States Navy.
PHILLIPS: And of course, while we're talking about this, the whole reason why is they're on their way home. They carrier is eventually going to make its way back to Everett, Washington. A lot of excited families, no doubt.
SHEPPERD: A lot of people back there. About 4 or 5,000 of them.
PHILLIPS: All right, coming in for the recovery here. First, you know, the Prowler. They help jam all the radars so the strike fighters can take off and do their business.
SHEPPERD: Guy looked a little low on the approach, but he caught the free wire right above where you were sleeping on the Lincoln.
PHILLIPS: That's right. Many of these aircraft kept me awake for hours, launching and recovering above my ahead for hours on end.
SHEPPERD: This is the electronic jammer, full over here of basically electronic jamming pods on the side here, sophisticated antennas on the rear. This jams for all the Stealth aircraft as well as the firers and strike force bombers.
PHILLIPS: Extremely effective aircraft.
SHEPPERD: Very effective. Saves lives.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's move into -- well obviously the aerial view there of the Prowler. Move along, got to talk about the F-18 Super Hornets.
SHEPPERD: Yes, the Super Hornet. Terrific airplane. Again, one of the new airplanes out there. Carries all kinds of bombs, missiles, sophisticated weaponry, can carry the JDAMs, can carry the new Joint Standoff Weapon with bomblets in board. It's a tremendous airplane. They carry with a total of about 50 warplanes on the decks of these carriers, that's a good, round figure.
PHILLIPS: What was interesting, too, this aircraft was also used for refueling. Fuel was a big issue with these guys when they were flying.
SHEPPERD: Gas is the key to warfare. And these guys -- you talk about guys hating life, the guys that had to refuel their buddies while the buddies went downtown to bomb. It's an important mission, but not a favorite mission. A new mission, by the way.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Another important mission, fuel, once again.
SHEPPERD: Fuel, always short of fuel on airplanes. This the S-3 Viking. It's launched basically to tank off -- top off the airplanes before they go for their strike and to top them off when they come back as well. A very, very important airplane, used to be an anti-sub airplane, now a major tanker.
PHILLIPS: The AWACS, Hawkeye.
SHEPPERD: E-2 Hawkeye, very sophisticated. It's a mini AWACS in that it doesn't fly as high or see as far as the regular AWACS, but very sophisticated, gives all the Navy strike forces, the fighters, what have you, the situational awareness picture, watches for fighter attacks, that type of thing.
PHILLIPS: Speaking of fighter attacks, back on the F-14 here, VF-31 Tomcatters, the squadron that I was -- had the chance to spend time with. I mean these were the first guys off the deck, General, when Operation Iraqi Freedom -- the president came out and said we are no longer doing Operation Southern Watch, but Operation Iraqi freedom. And these guys were the first guys off the deck.
SHEPPERD: Again, innovation. This is a swing-wing fighter. It can put its wings out for takeoff and landing and also slow flights, sweep them for supersonic flight. And again, it used to be a air defense fighter that defended the fleet. Now it also performs reconnaissance and they've adapted weapons to it as well. So it can drop, it can see, it can defend. A tremendous innovation by our Navy.
PHILLIPS: And not only recon missions, dropping bombs, also close air support, CAS missions. It became...
(CROSSTALK)
SHEPPERD: ... do it all.
PHILLIPS: Yes, very intense.
SHEPPERD: Two man crew.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, that was a pretty good tour.
SHEPPERD: Indeed. And this thing is a heavy airplane. And I'll tell you, as you know the heavier the airplane, the wilder the ride. And when you get launched off the deck in that thing, it is a wild ride, especially into the night where you're own gyros tumble.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I didn't have a chance to fly at night, but I did get a chance to fly with them off the deck during the day. It was pretty amazing, just that felling. And you knew how that was, you flew strike flyers. It's like an elephant that G-force on your body.
SHEPPERD: I highly recommend day over night. And -- truth in lending here. I rode with navy pilots who were doing this is the backseat of their fighters, and I really respect what they do in the front seat. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
PHILLIPS: You bring a good point about the nighttime sorties. I mean, so obviously, you could see the surface-to-air missiles, the AAA. These guys telling me, constantly, just the amount of fire coming at them. I remember the first name they got back, after the first night of dropping bomb saying it was like Star Wars.
SHEPPERD: You can see everything at night. You can't see it during the day, so day is favored for all sorts of things. Night used to be for relaxing. Now it's for war fighting because U.S. force, the coalition forces are all very good at it.
But in the night it offers -- the AAA guns can't see you unless they're radar-guided, so it offers great protection. But it also is very difficult and requires a lot of training.
PHILLIPS: General Don Sheppard, thank you so much.
SHEPPERD: Pleasure.
PHILLIPS: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 15, 2003 - 13:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well after spending a month aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf, can you believe I'm ready to go back aboard? Well, I am, and you're coming with me. But this time, no gas masks or life jackets required. Major General Don Shepperd is here with me to sort of assist us on a virtual tour.
Good to see you. Nice to be back.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we've got to give credit to Miles O'Brien.
SHEPPERD: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: This is his baby, OK? He's talked us into doing this. So, we'll start out with the F-14, how appropriate, the Tomcatters. The guys that I spent time with on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
SHEPPERD: Yes, looking at the Tomcat, I tell you. And here comes a EA-6B Prowler, we're going to follow the EA-6B in for a landing, lining up on the deck.
PHILLIPS: Got the fueling probe.
SHEPPERD: Fueling probe sticking out front there. And he's got to go in and to try to land on the deck. This is an electronic jamming aircraft. He's going on board the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72 nuclear carrier, one of the great carriers of the United States Navy.
PHILLIPS: And of course, while we're talking about this, the whole reason why is they're on their way home. They carrier is eventually going to make its way back to Everett, Washington. A lot of excited families, no doubt.
SHEPPERD: A lot of people back there. About 4 or 5,000 of them.
PHILLIPS: All right, coming in for the recovery here. First, you know, the Prowler. They help jam all the radars so the strike fighters can take off and do their business.
SHEPPERD: Guy looked a little low on the approach, but he caught the free wire right above where you were sleeping on the Lincoln.
PHILLIPS: That's right. Many of these aircraft kept me awake for hours, launching and recovering above my ahead for hours on end.
SHEPPERD: This is the electronic jammer, full over here of basically electronic jamming pods on the side here, sophisticated antennas on the rear. This jams for all the Stealth aircraft as well as the firers and strike force bombers.
PHILLIPS: Extremely effective aircraft.
SHEPPERD: Very effective. Saves lives.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's move into -- well obviously the aerial view there of the Prowler. Move along, got to talk about the F-18 Super Hornets.
SHEPPERD: Yes, the Super Hornet. Terrific airplane. Again, one of the new airplanes out there. Carries all kinds of bombs, missiles, sophisticated weaponry, can carry the JDAMs, can carry the new Joint Standoff Weapon with bomblets in board. It's a tremendous airplane. They carry with a total of about 50 warplanes on the decks of these carriers, that's a good, round figure.
PHILLIPS: What was interesting, too, this aircraft was also used for refueling. Fuel was a big issue with these guys when they were flying.
SHEPPERD: Gas is the key to warfare. And these guys -- you talk about guys hating life, the guys that had to refuel their buddies while the buddies went downtown to bomb. It's an important mission, but not a favorite mission. A new mission, by the way.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Another important mission, fuel, once again.
SHEPPERD: Fuel, always short of fuel on airplanes. This the S-3 Viking. It's launched basically to tank off -- top off the airplanes before they go for their strike and to top them off when they come back as well. A very, very important airplane, used to be an anti-sub airplane, now a major tanker.
PHILLIPS: The AWACS, Hawkeye.
SHEPPERD: E-2 Hawkeye, very sophisticated. It's a mini AWACS in that it doesn't fly as high or see as far as the regular AWACS, but very sophisticated, gives all the Navy strike forces, the fighters, what have you, the situational awareness picture, watches for fighter attacks, that type of thing.
PHILLIPS: Speaking of fighter attacks, back on the F-14 here, VF-31 Tomcatters, the squadron that I was -- had the chance to spend time with. I mean these were the first guys off the deck, General, when Operation Iraqi Freedom -- the president came out and said we are no longer doing Operation Southern Watch, but Operation Iraqi freedom. And these guys were the first guys off the deck.
SHEPPERD: Again, innovation. This is a swing-wing fighter. It can put its wings out for takeoff and landing and also slow flights, sweep them for supersonic flight. And again, it used to be a air defense fighter that defended the fleet. Now it also performs reconnaissance and they've adapted weapons to it as well. So it can drop, it can see, it can defend. A tremendous innovation by our Navy.
PHILLIPS: And not only recon missions, dropping bombs, also close air support, CAS missions. It became...
(CROSSTALK)
SHEPPERD: ... do it all.
PHILLIPS: Yes, very intense.
SHEPPERD: Two man crew.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, that was a pretty good tour.
SHEPPERD: Indeed. And this thing is a heavy airplane. And I'll tell you, as you know the heavier the airplane, the wilder the ride. And when you get launched off the deck in that thing, it is a wild ride, especially into the night where you're own gyros tumble.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I didn't have a chance to fly at night, but I did get a chance to fly with them off the deck during the day. It was pretty amazing, just that felling. And you knew how that was, you flew strike flyers. It's like an elephant that G-force on your body.
SHEPPERD: I highly recommend day over night. And -- truth in lending here. I rode with navy pilots who were doing this is the backseat of their fighters, and I really respect what they do in the front seat. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
PHILLIPS: You bring a good point about the nighttime sorties. I mean, so obviously, you could see the surface-to-air missiles, the AAA. These guys telling me, constantly, just the amount of fire coming at them. I remember the first name they got back, after the first night of dropping bomb saying it was like Star Wars.
SHEPPERD: You can see everything at night. You can't see it during the day, so day is favored for all sorts of things. Night used to be for relaxing. Now it's for war fighting because U.S. force, the coalition forces are all very good at it.
But in the night it offers -- the AAA guns can't see you unless they're radar-guided, so it offers great protection. But it also is very difficult and requires a lot of training.
PHILLIPS: General Don Sheppard, thank you so much.
SHEPPERD: Pleasure.
PHILLIPS: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
