Picture the scene. You’re flying a multi-million dollar jet in a hostile environment. You’ve just delivered a pair of Mk82 bombs on target and engaged enemy aircraft on the way. The adrenaline is flowing as you head for the safety of home with ‘BINGO, BINGO’ ringing in your ears. To add to the pressure you won’t have the luxury of 8,000ft of concrete runway to land on - you’ve got little over 700ft of pitching, angled flight deck in the middle of the ocean.



Carrier landings are a way of life for US Navy strike-fighter pilots on operations around the world and a skill which must be perfected in training if you’re to become a tailhooker, or simply ‘hooker’.



Training Air Wing ONE is based at Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi and trains up to 150 Student Naval Aviators each year.



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