Combat Aircraft – September 2019

T

HE US NAVY disestablished

its active-duty adversary

squadrons in the mid-1990s,

placing responsibility for being

the ‘enemy’ squarely on the

shoulders of the reserve naval

air forces. Aside from TOPGUN’s instructors

at NAS Fallon, Nevada, a handful of Fleet

Composite (VFC) and Strike Fighter (VFA)

squadrons attached to Reserve Carrier Air

Wing (CVWR) 20 provided the training

resources required by the fleet to keep

its pilots up to scratch on how to tackle

the bad guys.

Dwindling resources forced a reduction

in the reserve assets and ultimately CVWR-

20 became less of a deployable reserve

contingent to augment the fleet in times

of war and more of a training resource

for the active-duty fleet. In 2007, it was

redesignated as the Tactical Support

Wing (TSW) to reflect this shift in roles.

Today, the TSW comprises five

squadrons: VAQ-209 ‘Star Warriors’

with the EA-18G Growler, VFA-204

‘River Rattlers’ with F/A-18C/Ds, VFC-12

‘Fighting Omars’ with F/A-18C/Ds, plus

VFC-13 ‘Fighting Saints’ and VFC-111

‘Sundowners’ with F-5F/N Tiger IIs. With

the exception of the ‘Star Warriors’, which

augment the electronic attack squadrons,

the remaining four units are responsible

for most of the threat simulation and

adversary support training during Fleet

Replacement Squadron (FRS) tactics

detachments to NAS Key West, Florida,

Composite Training Unit Exercises

(COMPTUEX), and the bulk of training

assets for the Strike Fighter Advanced

Readiness Program known as SFARP.

This image: VFC-12 ‘Fighting

Omars’ rolled out this F/A-18D in

a new pixelated Su-57 ‘Frazor’

scheme in May.

Left: Maintainers get the engine

start signal for the number two

‘motor’ from the pilot of another of

VFC-12’s newly painted F/A-18Ds.

Note the squadron radio callsign

‘Ambush’ on the fuel tank.

Below left to right: CAPT Richard

‘Velcro’ Vaccaro, commander

of the TSW, pre-flights his F-5N

before a mission at Key West.

VFA-32 ‘Swordsmen’ were in

town for SFARP in June as part of

CVW-3.

Right: The mandatory use of

hand gestures, which can paint a

clearer picture of the fight during

the walk back to the squadron

buildings.

PHOTO REPORT // TACTICAL SUPPORT WING

48 September 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

46-51 Navy Aggressors C.indd 48 18/07/2019 13:42