Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106), also known as the "Gladiators", is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...

and

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...

Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

, Virginia.

Mission

As the East Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron, the squadron’ mission is to train Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Replacement Pilots and

Weapon Systems Officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

s (WSOs) to support fleet commitments. Every 6 weeks, a class of between 8–12 newly winged Navy and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

pilots and

Naval Flight Officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

s begins the 9-month training course in which they learn the basics of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, culminating in day/night carrier qualification and subsequent assignment to fleet Hornet squadrons. The West Coast counterparts to VFA-106 are

VFA-122 Strike Fighter Squadron 122 (VFA-122), also known as the "Flying Eagles", are a United States Navy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-18 Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at Nav ...

and

VFA-125 Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125), also known as the "Rough Raiders", is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The "Rough Raiders" are a Fleet Replacement Squadron flying the F-35C L ...

NAS Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County and Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, a census-designated place, is located inside the base's borders. NAS Lemoore is the Na ...

, California and

VMFAT-101 Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet training squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 11 ...

MCAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

, California. VFA-106 is also responsible for transitioning experienced naval aviators from other aircraft, such as the

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

and

S-3 Viking The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-crew, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Corporation. Because of its characteristic sound, it was nicknamed the "War Hoover" after th ...

, to the Super Hornet and F-35C. Aircrew returning from non-flying assignments undergo refresher training at VFA-106 prior to returning to the fleet. Additionally, VFA-106 (with the help from the Center of Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit: CNATTU) trains maintenance personnel and provides replacement aircraft to fleet units. VFA-106 A-18E

There are approximately 1200 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, as well as foreign instructors and students (from countries such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany) assigned to VFA-106. VFA-106 typically has 90+ F/A-18s of various models assigned. There is a permanent VFA-106 Detachment in

Naval Air Station Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an air ...

, Florida, where the squadron often deploys for fighter training. The squadron often detaches 12 aircraft to

Naval Air Station Fallon Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. Na ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

Naval Air Facility El Centro Naval Air Facility El Centro or NAF El Centro is a United States Navy Naval Air Facility located approximately six miles (10 km) northwest of El Centro, California, El Centro, in Imperial County, California. NAF El Centro is under the juris ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, as well as various aircraft carriers for carrier qualifications (CQ).

Squadron insignia and nickname

The squadron’s insignia was approved by

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

on May 26, 1982, and was similar to one used by VA-106 from April 1952 until disestablishment on November 7, 1969.

Airshow TAC DEMO team

VFA-106 are also well known for the airshow TAC DEMO Team. The team flies the F/A-18C and F/A-18F to show sites in the eastern United States. Instructors of the squadron fly the aircraft, and serve on a year schedule. The team demonstrates maneuvers used in training and combat flights. VFA-122 takes the western part of the United States for demonstrations. Typically two F/A-18s are sent to the show site, one being the demonstration aircraft and the other being a spare in case the demo jet suffered a mechanical problem. The F/A-18F is often sent to air shows already featuring the US Navy's

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

, while the F/A-18C, often referred to as the "Legacy Hornet" is usually featured at shows headlined by the

USAF Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Th ...

. On April 1, 2013 the VFA-106 single ship demonstration teams schedule was canceled for the remainder of the year as a result of sequestration in Congress that cut US Military participation at all air shows around the country and it was not approved to return to the air show circuit in the 2014 season. On September 20 and 21, 2014, the F/A-18C and F/A-18F flew full tactical demonstrations both days of the NAS Oceana airshow marking the first time since 2012 that US Navy F/A-18s were displayed to the public. In early 2015 it was decided that VFA-106 would be participating in air shows once again, but in a more limited capacity with an estimated 20 demonstrations to only be flown at civilian show sites (with the exception of NAS Oceana), with both the F/A-18C and F/A-18F.

History

VFA-106 was established at

NAS Cecil Field Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area. NA ...

, Florida on April 27, 1984, flying the F/A-18A/B Hornet. The first Replacement Pilot Class began training on the F/A-18 Hornet on October 7, 1985. In October and December 1987, respectively, VFA-106 received its first C and D models of the Hornet. In mid-1999, as a result of the BRAC-mandated closure of NAS Cecil Field, VFA-106 moved to NAS Oceana. In 2004, VFA-106 received its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. On April 6, 2012 an F/A-18D assigned to VFA-106 encountered problems on take off and crashed into an apartment complex in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Virginia. Both pilots ejected safely, and there were no fatalities.

References

External links