This Triple Tomcat Launch From an Aircraft Carrier is Badass

Launching fighter jets from the deck of an aircraft carrier is badass. Launching THREE of them in a matter of seconds is pure Navy awesomeness. In this video below from YouTuber Jason Hartberger, that’s exactly what happens. You can see two F-14 Tomcats, made famous by the 80’s action flick Top Gun, lined up and ready for launch. The planes sit at the ready waiting for the signal to open up the throttle from the catapult officer.

What we don’t see is that off camera just to the left, a third Tomcat sits at the ready, all three of the planes strapped into the steam-powered catapult and ready to launch. As the planes sit idling, you can hear the throttle bring up the engines to speed, then when the signal comes from the Shooter, the catapult springs into action and slings all three F-14’s off the end of the flight deck, each of them launching gracefully into the sky beyond the end of the deck.

As the trio of planes soar off into the distance, we can’t help but think how much engineering is at play in this video. From the building of a ship large enough to have three separate runways on it’s deck to the actual runways themselves and the steam catapult systems is a modern marvel. Add to that some of the most advanced aircraft for their time and you’re looking at a lot of know how crammed onto the deck of this aircraft carrier. Couple that amazing engineering with the men and women who spend months at a time aboard these floating cities and flying these planes, which also have to land back aboard said vessel after their mission is over, and you get a glimpse inside what makes our United States military the greatest in the world.