With its fleet of cutting-edge fighter aircraft and top-tier combat pilots, the US Navy's carrier-based air wings are ready to engage the enemy with overwhelming force.

In its impressive arsenal, the US Navy has two main multirole combat aircraft designed for carrier-based operations: the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the F-35C Lightning II.

The Navy carries these aircraft anywhere with the largest aircraft carrier fleet in the world, with 11 super carriers in service.

The ten Nimitz-class and the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carriers are the backbone of the Navy. The nuclear powered carriers are the largest warships in the world.

The hulking warships serve as mobile air bases at sea and allow US forces to fly into areas swiftly, without the complicated acquisition of permission to set up on land in neighboring nations.

The carriers can carry a maximum of 130 F/A-18 Hornets or 85-90 aircraft of different types, but current numbers are typically 64 aircraft with about 35-40 fighters.

To deploy, the aircraft carrier launches one of the Navy's 10 active Carrier Air Wings.

The mission of these units includes the detection and destruction of enemy aircraft, missiles or ships, air-to-surface attacks, electronic intelligence and search-and-rescue operations.

The Super Hornet

The powerful, versatile F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is the US Navy's primary strike and air superiority aircraft and can function as an attack aircraft, as well as a fighter escort for fleet air defense.

The F/A-18E is a single-seat aircraft; the F/A-18F is tandem-seat.

The aircraft first achieved initial operating capability in 2001. Since then, more than 600 have been built.

Super Hornets provide air superiority, reconnaissance, air defense suppression and day or night precision strikes. They also can extend the range of other aircraft via mid-air refueling.

The planes can be equipped with a "buddy refueling" aerial refueling system that allows one Super Hornet to refuel other other F/A-18E/F aircraft midair. The supply aircraft can hold a hose reel and five external tanks, each carrying more than 1,000 liters of fuel.

Three countries are Super Hornet customers: the United States, Australia and Kuwait.

In May 2007, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) became the first international Super Hornet customer. Australia today has 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets.

From 2014-2017, Australian Super Hornet pilots conducted more than 2,700 sorties against "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) targets in both Iraq and eastern Syria, according to the RAAF.

In June 2018, Kuwait ordered 22 F/A-18Es and 6 F/A-18Fs under a $1.5 billion contract. The aircraft were delivered by late 2021.

The F-35C Lightning II

The F-35C Lightning II entered service with the Navy in February 2019. This all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft can perform both air superiority and strike missions.

As one of the most advanced combat jets in the world, the single-seat, single-engine, all-weather F-35 Lightning II multirole fighter-bomber has been called the "quarterback of the sky."

It combines stealth, supersonic speed, maneuverability and advanced computing to support ground attack, aerial reconnaissance and air defense missions.

Its advanced sensor package can "gather, fuse and distribute more information than any fighter in history," according to the US Air Force, providing pilots with enhanced situational awareness and making the aircraft a crucial communication link among joint forces across air, land, sea, space and cyberspace.

The F-35A, used by the US Air Force, is the conventional takeoff and landing variant. The US Marine Corps uses F-35Bs, which can land vertically like a helicopter and take off in very short distances.

The US Navy's F-35Cs, the carrier variant, is the service's first low-observable carrier-based aviation platform.

The aircraft is replacing the Navy's older F/A-18C/D Hornets as the carrier strike group's primary offensive fighter for aerial defense and close air support.

The F-35C has the greatest internal fuel capacity of the F-35 variants. It uses probe and drogue refueling, which involves putting a probe on the receiver aircraft and attaching a flexible fuel hose to the tanker aircraft.

Top Gun

At the heart of the effectiveness of these superior aircraft are well-trained troops.

The US Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, more popularly known as Top Gun, stands as the cornerstone for training elite naval combat pilots to "win in combat."

The training program runs three 13-week courses each year to teach air combat maneuvering tactics and techniques to selected naval aviators and naval flight officers, who return to their operating units as surrogate instructors or become Top Gun instructors.

Established in 1969, it continues to be a proving ground for tactical innovation and expertise, training pilots to optimize the potential of their aircraft in combat scenarios.

Unparalleled fighter pilots, coupled with their state-of-the-art aircraft, position the Navy as an elite force.

Their readiness for engagement worldwide reinforces their capability to apply overwhelming force against any adversary and to support US allies.