View source for United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program

{{Short description|U.S. naval aviation school}}
{{Redirect|TOPGUN|other uses|Top Gun (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|SFTI|protein|Sunflower trypsin inhibitor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=April 2009}}
{{More citations needed|find=Navy Fighter Weapons School|date=August 2022}}
[[File:U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School Emblem.svg|thumb|right|250px|Emblem of and worn by members of NFWS]]
The '''United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program''' ('''SFTI program'''), more popularly known as ''Top Gun'' (stylized as '''TOPGUN'''), is a [[United States Navy]] [[Military education and training|training program]] that teaches [[Air combat manoeuvring|air combat maneuvering]] tactics and techniques to selected [[Naval aviator (United States)|naval aviators]] and [[naval flight officer]]s, who return to their operating units as surrogate instructors.
The program began as the '''United States Navy Fighter Weapons School''', established on 3 March 1969,<ref>{{cite web |title=March 3 in Naval History |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/today-in-history/march-3.html |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |publisher=U.S. Navy |access-date=11 August 2022}}</ref> at the former [[Marine Corps Air Station Miramar|Naval Air Station Miramar]] in [[San Diego, California]].<ref name="Michel, p. 186">{{harvnb|Michel|2007|p=186}}</ref><ref name="Founding date">{{cite web |author1=Senior Chief Deputy Stuart H. Swett |title=Resolution Number R-284202 |url=http://docs.sandiego.gov/council_reso_ordinance/rao1994/R-284202.pdf |publisher=[[San Diego City Council]] |access-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811094614/http://docs.sandiego.gov/council_reso_ordinance/rao1994/R-284202.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2018 |language=en |date=5 July 1994 |quote=[...] on March 1, 1943, the area near Miramar Naval Air Station was commissioned the Marine Corps Air Base, Kearney Mesa, San Diego.}}</ref> In 1996, the school was merged into the [[Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center]] at [[Naval Air Station Fallon]], [[Nevada]].<ref name="sdbfw">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=60hWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6597%2C14162|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|agency={Los Angeles Times}|last=Perry |first=Tony |title=San Diego bids farewell to Top Guns |date=1 June 1996|page=3A }}</ref>
[[File:DN-SN-84-09583 Top Gun Line Shack.jpg|thumb|"TOP GUN" text at the line shack of NAS Miramar, 1984]]
==History==
===Origins===
[[File:Fleet Air Gunnery Unit planes El Centro NAN3-59.jpg|thumb|U.S. Navy [[Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific]] aircraft from [[NAAS El Centro]] in the late 1950s<ref name="google/books=D2RGAQAAMAAJ"/>|left]]
An earlier U.S. Navy air-to-air combat training program, the U.S. Navy Fleet Air Gunnery Units, or FAGU, had provided air combat training for Naval Aviators from the early 1950s until 1960. In June 1956, [[Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific]] held the ''Navy Fleet Air Gunnery Meet'' at [[NAAS El Centro]].<ref name="google/books=DeAwAAAACAAJ"/> In April 1957, ''Naval Air Weapons Meet 1957'' was held at NAAS El Centro.<ref name="google/books=DeAwAAAACAAJ" /> In April 1958, ''Naval Air Weapons Meet'' was held at NAAS El Centro. From 30 November to 4 December 1959, the last ''Naval Air Weapons Meet'' was held at [[MCAAS Yuma]].<ref name="google/books=DeAwAAAACAAJ">{{cite book |last1=Romano |first1=Angelo |title=Naval air weapons meet 1956-1959 |date=2004 |publisher=Model Publishing |isbn=978-88-89392-00-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeAwAAAACAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=naval-aviation-news |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/naval-aviation-news/back-issues/1950/1959/november.html |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |access-date=11 August 2022 |date=November 1959}}</ref> Signage called it "Top Gun".<ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1950/pdf/nov59.pdf Naval Aviation News 1959 Nov]</ref><ref>[https://static.dvidshub.net/media/pubs/pdf_16907.pdf Red Devils Victors at Air Weapons Meet]</ref><ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/naval-aviation-news/back-issues/1950/1959/march.html FLEET AIR GUNNERY UNIT, PACIFIC, IS HOST TO ANNUAL NAVAL AIR WEAPONS MEET] March 1959 - [[Naval History and Heritage Command]] "FLEET AIR GUNNERY UNIT, PACIFIC, IS HOST TO ANNUAL NAVAL AIR WEAPONS MEET. 18. FLEE. LEET AIR Gunnery Unit, Pacific, ... to MCAAS YUMA, the annual Naval."</ref><ref name="google/books=D2RGAQAAMAAJ">{{cite journal |title=Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific |journal=Naval Aviation News |date=January 1958 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D2RGAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Fleet+Air+Gunnery+Unit+Pacific%22+Yuma&pg=RA14-PA18 |access-date=11 August 2022 |publisher=Chief of Naval Operations |language=en |quote=Because Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific is being moved before July 1 to MCAAS YUMA, the annual Naval Air Weapons meet will be held this year in October at ...}}</ref><ref name="avgeekery-top-gun-long-before">{{cite web |last1=Walton |first1=Bill |title=Watch: This Top Gun Took Place Long Before Viper and Iceman |url=https://avgeekery.com/watch-this-top-gun-took-place-long-before-viper-and-iceman/ |website=Avgeekery.com |access-date=11 August 2022 |date=29 July 2017}}</ref> ''Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific'' and ''Marine Training Groups'' were closed, as an economy,<ref name="google/books=A8_V2OxM-b0C">{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Charles F. |title=Hit or Miss |journal=[[The Marine Corps Gazette]] |date=December 1962 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8_V2OxM-b0C&dq=%22Fleet+Air+Gunnery+Unit+Pacific%22+Yuma&pg=RA9-PA32 |access-date=11 August 2022 |publisher=[[Marine Corps Association]] |language=en |quote=Later, after a tour or so in squadrons, and if the pilots were well qualified, they could receive orders to attend FAGUPAC (Fleet Air Gunnery Unit, Pacific). This Navy training unit, then located at NAS, El Centro, Calif. (later at MCAF, Yuma, Ariz.), had the sole mission of training experienced pilots to become weapons delivery experts...By now you will have noticed that MTG and FAGU have been referred to in the past tense.  Unfortunately, they are no longer around...The reason the MTGs (Marine Training Groups) are not around today is economy. After the Korean war the large influx of pilots into the Marine Corps slowed. (Major, United States Marine Corps) }}</ref> and a doctrinal shift, brought on by advances in missile, radar, and fire control technology, contributing to the belief that the era of the classic dogfight was over, leading to their disestablishment and a serious decline in U.S air-to-air combat proficiency that became apparent during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>[http://a4skyhawk.org/4e/fagu/fagu.htm Fleet Air Gunnery Unit (FAGU) | A-4 Skyhawk Association]. A4skyhawk.org. Retrieved on 24 May 2014.</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Robert K. Wilcox. ''Scream of Eagles''. {{ISBN|0-7434-9724-4}}</ref> The pilots who were part of the initial cadre of instructors at Top Gun had experience as students from FAGU.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
In 1968, [[Chief of Naval Operations]] (CNO) [[Admiral]] [[Thomas Hinman Moorer]] ordered Captain [[Frank Ault]] to research the failings of the U.S. [[air-to-air missile]]s used against the [[Vietnam People's Air Force]] during the then-ongoing [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{harvnb|Michel|2007|pp=185–186}}</ref><ref name="Linder156">{{cite book|last=Linder|first=Bruce|title=San Diego's Navy|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute#Naval Institute Press|Naval Institute Press]]|year=2001|page=156|isbn=1-55750-531-4}}</ref> [[Operation Rolling Thunder]], which lasted from 2 March 1965 to 1 November 1968, ultimately saw almost 1,000 U.S. aircraft losses in about one million [[sortie]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Michel|2007|p=149}}</ref>
[[Royal Navy]] and [[South African Army|South African]] Brigadier General [[Dick Lord]] along with others were sent to assist the US Military. He wrote the USN Air Combat Manoeuvring Manual (ACM) and his training methods were instrumental in the creation of Top Gun.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brigadier General Dick Lord |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/naval-obituaries/8873213/Brigadier-General-Dick-Lord.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=6 November 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-17 |title=American "Top Gun" has a Distinct South African Influence |url=https://www.flightlineweekly.com/post/2019/12/17/american-top-gun-has-a-distinct-south-african-influence |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=flightlineweekly |language=en}}</ref>
===Fighter Weapons School===
[[File:F-14A Tomcat of VF-213 in dogfight with TopGun F-16N in March 1989.jpeg|thumb|An [[F-16 Fighting Falcon]] and an [[F-14 Tomcat]] engaged in a mock dogfight as part of Top Gun training in 1989]]
The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established on 3 March 1969, at [[Naval Air Station Miramar]], California. Placed under the control of the [[VF-121]] "Pacemakers," an [[F-4 Phantom]]–equipped [[Fleet Replacement Squadron|Replacement Air Group (RAG)]] unit, the new school received relatively scant funding and resources. Its staff consisted of eight F-4 Phantom II instructors from VF-121 and one intelligence officer hand-picked by the school's first officer-in-charge, Lieutenant Commander [[Dan Pedersen]], USN.<ref>{{harvnb|Michel|2007|p=187}}</ref> Together, F-4 aviators Darrell Gary, Mel Holmes, Jim Laing, John Nash, Jim Ruliffson, Jerry Sawatzky, J. C. Smith, Steve Smith, as well as Wayne Hildebrand, a naval intelligence officer, built the Naval Fighter Weapons School syllabus from scratch. To support their operations, they borrowed aircraft from its parent unit and other Miramar-based units, such as composite squadron [[VC-7]] and Fighter Squadron [[VF-126]]. The school's first headquarters at Miramar was in a stolen modular trailer.<ref>{{harvnb|Pedersen|2019|p=110}}</ref><ref name="navy.mil/dn-sn-84-09583">{{cite web |title=DN-SN-84-09583 Top Gun Line Shack |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nara-series/dn-series/dn-sn-84-09583-top-gun-line-shack.html |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |publisher=[[navy.mil]] |access-date=11 August 2022}}</ref>
[[File:DN-SN-84-09586 Top Gun Flight Line.jpg|thumb|Mechanics at the flight line of NAS Miramar, 1984|left]]
According to the 1973 command history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, the unit's purpose was to "train fighter air crews at the graduate level in all aspects of fighter weapons systems including tactics, techniques, procedures and doctrine. It serves to build a nucleus of eminently knowledgeable fighter crews to construct, guide, and enhance weapons training cycles and subsequent aircrew performance. This select group acts as the F-4 community’s most operationally orientated weapons specialists. Top Gun's efforts are dedicated to the Navy’s professional fighter crews, past, present and future."<ref>Navy Fighter Weapons School, 1973 Command History, Naval Air Station Miramar, March 1, 1974</ref>
Highly qualified instructors were an essential element of Top Gun's success. Mediocre instructors are unable to hold the attention of talented students. Top Gun instructors were knowledgeable fighter tacticians assigned to one or more specific fields of expertise, such as a particular weapon, threat, or tactic. Every instructor was required to become an expert in effective training techniques. All lectures were given without notes after being screened by a notorious "[[murder board]]" of evaluators who would point out ambiguities or flawed concepts in the draft presentation. The curriculum was in a constant state of flux based upon class critiques and integration of developing tactics to use new systems to combat emerging threats. Instructors often spent their first year on the staff learning to be an effective part of the training environment.<ref name=jaw/>
[[File:TopGun fighters at NAS Fallon in 1993.JPEG|thumb|Top Gun [[F-5E Tiger II|F-5E and F-5F Tiger II]] fighters alongside [[A-4M Skyhawk]] attackers, all painted in aggressor markings, at [[NAS Fallon]] in 1993]]
Top Gun initially operated the [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk]] and borrowed USAF [[Northrop T-38 Talon]]s to simulate the flying characteristics of the [[MiG-17]] and [[MiG-21]], respectively. The school also used Marine-crewed [[Grumman A-6 Intruder]]s and USAF [[Convair F-106 Delta Dart]] aircraft when available. Later adversary aircraft included the [[IAI Kfir]] and [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon]]; and the T-38 was replaced by the [[Northrop F-5|Northrop F-5E and F-5F Tiger II]].<ref name=jaw/>
In addition to maneuvering skill, knowledge of weapons systems was recognized as important. Weapons system knowledge was determined as a common thread among the 4 percent of [[World War II]] pilots who accounted for 40 percent of the enemy aircraft destroyed. The complexity of modern weapons systems requires careful study to achieve design potential.<ref name=jaw/>
The British writer [[Rowland White (British writer)|Rowland White]] claimed that the early school was influenced by a group of a dozen flying instructors from the British [[Royal Navy]]'s [[Fleet Air Arm]], who were assigned to Miramar as exchange pilots and served as instructors in VF-121.<ref name="British TopGuns">{{cite news |title=Top Gun Heroes Based on Brit Flying Aces |work=Sky News |date=25 March 2009 |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Top-Gun-Movie-Starriing-Tom-Cruise-Was-Inspired-By-An-Elite-Group-Of-British-Pilots-Says-Historian/Article/200903415247993?lpos=UK_News_First_UK_News_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15247993_Top_Gun_Movie_Starriing_Tom_Cruise_Was_Inspired_By_An_Elite_Group_Of_British_Pilots_Says_Historian}} Retrieved on 25 March 2009.</ref><ref name="British Top Gun">{{cite news |title=Top Gun's British inspiration |work=BBC Today |date=24 March 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7960000/7960753.stm}} Retrieved on 25 March 2009.</ref> A British newspaper, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', declared in a 2009 headline, "American Top Gun Fighter Pilot Academy Set Up by British."<ref>{{cite news | title=American Top Gun fighter pilot academy set up by British | work = The Daily Telegraph | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/5032158/American-Top-Gun-fighter-pilot-academy-set-up-by-British.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/5032158/American-Top-Gun-fighter-pilot-academy-set-up-by-British.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, the British naval pilots mentioned in the article confirmed that the claim was false and that they had no role in creating the curriculum and no access to the classified programs that the Top Gun instructors participated in to refine it.<ref>{{harvnb|Pedersen|2019|p=234}}</ref>
During the halt in the bombing campaign against North Vietnam (in force from 1968 until the early 1970s), Top Gun established itself as a center of excellence in fighter doctrine, tactics, and training. By the time aerial activity over the North resumed, most Navy squadrons had a Top Gun graduate. According to the Navy, the results were dramatic: the Navy kill-to-loss ratio against the [[Vietnam People's Air Force|North Vietnamese Air Force]] (NVAF) MiGs soared from 2.42:1 to 12.5:1.<ref name=jaw>{{cite journal |last=Winnefeld |first=James A. |year=1986 |title=Topgun Getting it Right |journal=Proceedings |volume=112 |issue=10 |pages=141–146 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref> In contrast, the Air Force, which had not implemented a similar training program, saw its kill ratio worsen for a time after the resumption of bombing, according to Benjamin Lambeth's ''The Transformation of American Airpower.'' On 28 March 1970, Lieutenant Jerry Beaulier, a graduate of Top Gun's first class, scored the first kill of a North Vietnamese MiG since September 1968.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grossnick|first1=Roy A.|last2=Evans|first2=Mark|title=United States Naval Aviation, 1910-2010|year=2016|publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]|isbn=9780945274759|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/1910/10%20Chapter10.pdf|page=380}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>
===Transfer to NSAWC===
In 1996, the transfer of NAS Miramar to the U.S. Marine Corps was coupled with the incorporation of Top Gun into the [[Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center]] (NSAWC) at [[NAS Fallon]], Nevada.<ref name=sdbfw/><ref name="navy-NAN-1995-so">{{cite web |title=Naval Aviation News |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/1990/pdf/so95.pdf |website=history.navy.mil |access-date=10 August 2022 |date=1995}}</ref>  In 2016, NSAWC was rebranded as the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC), where Top Gun remains a department alongside graduate-level weapons schools for other naval aviation platforms.
In 2011, the Top Gun program was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]] at the [[San Diego Air & Space Museum]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>
==In popular culture==
[[File:Filming of Top Gun movie (01) 1985.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A U.S. naval aviator acting as a [[stand-in]] during ''[[Top Gun]]'' filming at NAS Miramar, 5 July 1985]]
The school was made famous by the 1986 film ''[[Top Gun]]'' and its 2022 sequel ''[[Top Gun: Maverick]]'', starring [[Tom Cruise]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/5541550/top-gun-school/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|author=Waxman, Olivia B.|language=en-US|url-status=live|title=The Real Military Program That Inspired ''Top Gun'' Just Turned 50. Here's How Being a Navy Pilot Has Changed Since Then|date=5 March 2019 |archivedate=May 16, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516184635/https://time.com/5541550/top-gun-school/}}</ref> Quoting ''Top Gun'' while at the school incurs an immediate $5 fine, as it is seen as conflicting with the institute's atmosphere of professionalism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pickrell |first1=Ryan |title=Former US Navy fighter pilot explains why TOPGUN fines aviators $5 each time they quote the iconic 1986 film 'Top Gun' starring Tom Cruise |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/why-navy-topgun-school-fines-people-for-top-gun-quotes-2020-9 |access-date=12 June 2022 |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=16 September 2020}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School (CAEWWS)]]
* [[Combat Commanders' School]] (Pakistan)
* [[Exercise Red Flag]]
* [[Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center]] (USN)
* [[Qualified Weapons Instructor]] (United Kingdom)
* [[Tactics and Air Combat Defence Establishment]] (India)
* [[United States Air Force Weapons School]]
==References==
===Cited works===
*{{cite book |last=Michel |first=Marshall L. III |date=2007 |orig-date=1997 |title=Clashes; Air Combat Over North Vietnam 1965–1972 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-519-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Pedersen|first=Dan|year=2019|title=Topgun: An American Story|location=New York|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=978-0316416269}}
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Dave Parsons and Derek Nelson (1993). ''Bandits – History of American Adversarial Aircraft'', Motorbooks International.
* Dean Garner (1992). ''TOPGUN Miramar'', Osprey Publishing, London,;{{ISBN|978-1-85532-246-2}}
* George Hall (1986). ''TOPGUN – The Navy's Fighter Weapons School'', Presidio Press.
* Lou Drendel (revised 1984) ''...And Kill MiGs!'', Squadron/Signal Publications
* Dan Pedersen (2019).  Topgun - An American Story, Hachette Book Group, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-316-41628-3}}
* Brad Elward (2020). ''TOPGUN: The US Navy Fighter Weapons School'' Schiffer Publishing {{ISBN|978-0764360145}}
* Brad Elward (2021). ''TOPGUN: The Legacy'' Schiffer Publishing {{ISBN|978-0764362545}}
* Robert K. Wilcox (2005-reissue) ''Scream of Eagles'', Pocketstar {{ISBN|0-471-52641-X}}
* Dave "Bio" Baranek (2010). ''[http://www.topgunbio.com Topgun Days]'', Skyhorse Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-61608-005-1}}{{oclc|464579706}}
* John R. Chesire. ''[http://flitetime.net/tg.html Top Gun student]'' — ''Autobiography''
*{{cite journal |last1=Elder |first1=Adam |date=October 2009 |title=Top Gun: 40 Years of Higher Learning |journal=[[San Diego Magazine]] |publisher=SDM, LLC |url=http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/October-2009/Top-Gun-40-Years-of-Higher-Learning/  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524214244/http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/October-2009/Top-Gun-40-Years-of-Higher-Learning/ |archive-date=24 May 2013 }}
*O'Connor, Michael. 2004. ''MiG Killers of Yankee Station''. Friendship, WI: New Past Press<!-- https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Naval%20Aviation%20News/2000/2005/july-august/p44-45_Proread.pdf -->
==External links==
* {{YouTube|id=00aHvkKj7Bs|title=Ep. 19: Patch Wearers: The Real TOPGUN}} — [http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQuxdMZFa511Np5TpZLn4iB58srft0Hjx Faces of the Fleet] [[United States Navy]]
* [[Dan Pedersen]]. {{YouTube|id=x7g86WkOCzA|title=Top Gun Then and Now}} — [[Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]]
{{US Navy navbox}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program}}
[[Category:Military in Nevada]]
[[Category:Naval aviation education]]
[[Category:United States naval aviation]]
[[Category:United States Navy schools and training]]