A F/A-18F Super Hornet seconds away from its controlled crash on board the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). The carrier was set in the Arabian Sea for several months during Operation Iraqi Freedom. All aircraft flew with live weapons, and when not used in the combat theater, many aircraft were able to take the weapons back to the carrier. Jet fighters of an earlier age than the Super Hornet were often forced to throw their weapons into the sea before landing at a carrier, as they were too heavy for a safe landing.