Let's ring in the New Year with this amazing picture showing a F/A-18F Super Hornet blasting off the deck of the USS Carl Vinson into the night on its way to strike ISIS targets in Iraq. The long cloud you see coming out of the Hornet's tail is fuel venting after the catapult stroke's rapid acceleration.
Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com