elevated to detachment status in 1971,
TOPGUN had long fought for money and
assets, including o ce space and aircraft.
Indeed, for its rst year, TOPGUN operated
out of a two-room construction trailer,
before relocating into Hangar Two at
Miramar. Independent command status
alleviated some of that concern, although
it faced an existential threat in the fall
of 1973, when all but one of its aircraft
were given to the Israelis, embattled with
several Arab nations in the Yom Kippur
War. TOPGUN persevered, obtaining a
handful of discarded USAF T-38 Talons and,
a year later, brand new Northrop F-5E/F
Tiger IIs and additional A-4 Skyhawks. The
A-4s emulated the performance of the
MiG-17 while the T-38s, and later F-5E/Fs,
mimicked the MiG-21.
The course expanded to ve weeks in
late 1974, and was now solely dedicated
to air-to-air combat training, having
dropped its week of air-to-ground
focus in 1970. Sta size grew from nine
instructors in 1969, plus supplemental
instructors from VF-121, to nearly 20
by the mid-1970s, and new programs
were added to teach advanced tactics
to ship-based air intercept controllers
(AICs) in 1972-1973, and an adversary
instructor course in 1975. Consolidating
adversary instructor training was part
of TOPGUN’s e ort to standardize how
aggressor pilots were trained eet-
wide, which not only made training
safer, but also ensured that TOPGUN’s
tactical recommendations were
uniformly taught.The 1970s also saw the introduction of a
new eet ghter — the mighty Grumman
F-14 Tomcat, which ushered in new ghter
tactics and especially led to the creation
of a new TOPGUN course focused on the
RIOs and the maritime air superiority role.
Called TOPSCOPE, the multi-week course
ran from 1976 to 1980 and centered on
the outer air battle around the carrier
group, defending against Soviet bombers
and their long-range missiles. The rst
F-14 crews came through TOPGUN in
mid-1976.
In need of more space for its expanding
roles, TOPGUN moved to Hangar One
in 1977 and that same year began re-
evaluating its approach to tactics after
a cross-service study assessing current
tactics against advanced threats with all-
aspect missile capabilities. TOPGUN also
began sending its students to y against
the MiGs of the USAF’s ‘Red Eagles’ at
Tonopah, Nevada, which later became the
‘Constant Peg’ program. This rst look at
an actual adversary was used to reinforce
the tactics taught at TOPGUN with real-
world examples.TOPGUN at its peak
As the 1980s began, TOPGUN moved into
a time of strong funding, wide exposure
and a true coming of age. While the early
part of the decade was somewhat austere,
the defense budgets of the Reagan
administration made certain that the
military had the money it needed to buy
the right equipment and maintain training
to face the Soviet threat. In 1980, TOPGUNTOPGUN instructors
understand what the
phrase ‘to stand on the shoulders
of giants’ means — it is an honor
to the legacy of those who came
before them and a motivator to
become the best of the best
TOPGUN operated F-5s in the adversary
role to replicate the MiG-21. This F-5E (BuNo
159878/serial 73-0893) was photographed
at Miramar in December 1975. Michael GroveUNIT REPORT // TOPGUN
88 September 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
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