Airborne Command & Control Squadron 117 (VAW-117) is an

airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

(AEW) squadron. Nicknamed "The Wallbangers" (formerly "The Nighthawks"), it flies the

E-2D Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...

, the USN's only carrier-based command and control platform. The squadron is based in

NAS Point Mugu Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base V ...

and deploys as part of Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9) on board .

History

1970s

Grumman E-2B Hawkeye of VAW-117 in flight, circa in 1980

The squadron was established at

NAS North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

, California on 1 July 1974, as part of Fighter Early Warning Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. The squadron received its first E-2B aircraft in October 1974 and in October the following year deployed to the Mediterranean Sea on board . The squadron made its first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment with Carrier Air Wing Two on board in February 1979.

1980s

During its 1988 WESTPAC deployment on board , VAW-117 played a key role in

Operation Praying Mantis Operation Praying Mantis was an attack on 18 April 1988, by the United States Armed Forces within Iranian territorial waters in retaliation for the Iranian naval mining of the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War and the subsequent damage t ...

during which an Iranian ship was destroyed. In addition, the squadron provided command and control during attacks on oil platforms and small ships. Prior to changing their name to "WallBangers" then "NightHawks" they were first called "

Lemurs Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madaga ...

1990s

On board ’s maiden WESTPAC voyage in May 1991, VAW-117 assisted in the evacuation of dependents from the Philippines after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo during

Operation Fiery Vigil Operation Fiery Vigil was the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) emergency evacuation of all non-essential military and U.S. Department of Defense civilian personnel and their dependents from Clark Air Base and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay ...

. VAW-117 was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for its efforts in assisting in the evacuation. In 1999, VAW-117 was selected to provide operational testing for the Navy's newest AEW upgrade, the MCU/ACIS (Mission Computer Upgrade/ Advance Computer Information System).

2000s

Tiger Cruise air power demonstration DVIDS60140

In July 2001, VAW-117 was the first squadron to deploy with the new MCU/ACIS system. WESTPAC 2001–02 on board proved to be an active deployment. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in 2001, aircraft from VAW-117 and CVW-11 were among the first aircraft to lead the strikes on Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The extensive radar and communication equipment on board the E-2C Hawkeye allowed the squadron to continuously provided battle space management over Pakistan and southern Afghanistan, ensuring the safety of all airborne assets and clearance from commercial air routes. The squadron's Hawkeyes served as an information-clearing house, providing a communications relay between command authorities on the ground and tactical aircraft airborne. VAW-117 was the first fleet squadron to receive the HE-2K variant of the Hawkeye and also the first fleet Hawkeye squadron to receive the

Cooperative Engagement Capability Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that is intended to significantly improve battle force air and missile defense capabilities by combining data from multiple battle force air search ...

system (CEC). In May 2005, VAW-117 deployed on with CVW-11 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This was VAW-117's first deployment with the HE2K variant. During the deployment, VAW-117 flew into Karachi, Pakistan, and Goa, India, to display the E-2C to partner nations. The ''Nimitz'' while on deployment visited Hong Kong; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Guam; Manama, Bahrain; Dubai, UAE; Perth, Australia; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, twice. In April 2007 VAW-117 deployed on WESTPAC 2007. The squadron flew 101 sorties and 227 hours in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Iraq War. It also took part in several exercises including Valiant Shield and

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

. In January 2008 the squadron deployed on a four-month surge to the Western Pacific, where it took part in Exercise Foal Eagle 08. During the course of the cruise, VAW-117 demonstrated its aviation skills, earning the CVW-11 Top Hook Award for the first time in nearly eight years.

2010s

In April 2013 the squadron deployed with CVW-11 on board in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It ended up being an extended deployment of eight months and they returned on 10 December 2013. During the deployment, due to their outstanding landing grades earned them the coveted "Golden Hook" award for having the best overall landing performance of the fixed-wing squadrons. In January 2015 the squadron transferred to

Carrier Air Wing 7 Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. At the moment, CVW-7 is assigned to the USS George H. W. Bush. The tail code of aircraft assigned to CVW-7 is AG. Mis ...

(CVW-7) aboard . In 2016, VAW-117 was awarded the

Battle Efficiency Award The Battle Effectiveness Award (formerly the Battle Efficiency Award, commonly known as the Battle "E"), is awarded annually to the small number of United States Navy ships, submarines, aviation, and other units that win their battle effectiveness c ...

while on board .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaw-117 Early warning squadrons of the United States Navy