(FFARP, the Hornets called it
SFARP), and also increased its role
at ‘Strike U’, o ering an Overland Air
Superiority Training (OAST) course. These
new o erings helped TOPGUN reach
more of the eet than was possible solely
through course graduates.
One of the more visible aspects of
TOPGUN in the 1980s was its emergence
in public parlance through Paramount’s
1986 movie Top Gun. Although the school
had been well known in military circles
prior to the movie’s release, it was largely
unknown to the general public outside
of the San Diego area. Top Gun the movie
boosted enlistment and made the school
a household name.A decade of major change
The 1990s, particularly the early part, saw
huge transition at TOPGUN. Some was
due to the mission change brought on
by the demise of the former Soviet Unionand the military downsizing that followed.
The primary threat now was not long-
range Soviet bombers and their missiles;
overland power projection was the new
contingency. In 1991, ‘Desert Storm’ drove
home several lessons that TOPGUN took
to heart, resulting in a host of tactics
changes as well as the re-incorporation of
air-to-ground training into the syllabus.
The war in Iraq demonstrated that the US
Navy was behind the USAF in precision
strike and that tactics had to be developed
to more e ectively utilize the Hornet. It
also demonstrated that without air-to-air
threats, the Tomcat played a relatively
insigni cant part in overall carrier air
operations. Things had to change.
Change they did. In 1993, TOPGUN re-
introduced air-to-ground and expanded
the course to six weeks. Instructors also
began ying in a ‘Blue Air’ role, which
meant that they would y certain missions
with the students, as opposed to only ying against them. This brought with it
a new level of credibility for the sta and
was a precursor of the changes that would
come just a few years later. TOPGUN
introduced new tactics for the AIM-120
AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range
Air-to-Air Missile) and AGM-88 HARM
(High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) —
both critical assets for the Hornet. Also
in the mid-1990s, TOPGUN retired its
beloved F-16Ns and A-4s, acquiring a
number of low-Lot F/A-18s and a small
number of early production F-14s to ll
the adversary void.
In 1995, TOPGUN changed its teaching
model, moving away from training a
crew from each squadron then returning
them to impart their learnings. Borrowing
from its USAF and Marine Corps brethren,
TOPGUN developed the Strike Fighter
Tactics Instructor (SFTI) program. SFTI
brought aircrew to TOPGUN at the
end of their rst three-year squadronThis image was
taken during the
NSAWC era as the
school received
its fi rst Super
Hornets. TOPGUN
continues to use
F/A-18Cs in the
adversary role.
Ted Carlson/
Fotodynamicshttp://www.combataircraft.net // September 2019 91
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