D
RIVING EAST FROM Reno,
a quiet, remote, desert
enclave in north Nevada isn’t
quite where you’d expect
the US Navy to perfect its
war ghting skills. However,
this is actually the perfect overland
environment for pilots and weapons
systems o cers (WSOs) to be honing
their skills. TOPGUN isn’t just the lm
from the 1980s, and it isn’t a competition
— it’s an intrinsic part of high-end navy
strike ghter aircraft training. Every day,
streams of colorful adversaries go head-
to-head with eet pilots as they learn
how to be the best they can possibly
be. However, while TOPGUN was made
famous by the 1986 movie, the reality is
far removed from Hollywood’s portrayal
of this center of excellence.
The Navy Fighter Weapons School
(NFWS) is now a department within the
Naval Aviation War ghting Development
Center (NAWDC) at NAS Fallon, Nevada.
TOPGUN holds three classes per year for
what is now a 13-week course. Graduates
of TOPGUN are known as strike ghter
tactics instructors (SFTIs), who either
return to the eet as squadron
training o cers with a coveted
TOPGUN blue patch, or can
remain at Fallon to become
TOPGUN instructors to see out the
remainder of their three-year assignment.This image: LTs Rice and
Moorefi eld fl y an F/A-18F
over the Fallon range
complex. Aside from the
badge and lightning bolt
on the fi ns, the TOPGUN-
assigned Super Hornets
are inconspicuous with a
gray overall fi nish.
Inset: Complete with
stylized helmet bag, a
TOPGUN instructor climbs
into an F/A-18C.http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2018 61
60-67 Supp_TOPGUN Today C.indd 61 19/07/2018 14:12