VX-4, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Four, (''AIRTEVRON FOUR''), commonly referred to by its nickname, ''The Evaluators'', was 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 ...
air test and evaluation squadron based at
Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. Their
tail code was ''XF,'' and they flew the
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom,
Grumman F-14 Tomcat and the
McDonnell Douglas 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, ...
until their disestablishment in 1994.
History
There were two squadrons which used the designation VX-4. The first was established in 1946 as Experimental and Development squadron Four at NAS Quonset Point equipped with
PB-1Ws to evaluate and develop Airborne Early Warning equipment and procedures.
[Naval Aviation News Aug 1947 pg 24] In 1950 it relocated to NAS Atlantic City as Air Development Squadron four. The squadron moved to
NAS Patuxent River in 1951 where it was disestablished later the year due to the lapse of assigned projects.
The second squadron to carry the VX-4 designation was established in 1952 at
NAS Point Mugu to conduct evaluations of air-launched guided missiles as assigned by the Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force. That squadron is the subject of this article.
In 1960 the squadron began to include additional projects that were not associated with guided missiles. Projects such as the operational test and terrain clearance radar, Doppler navigation systems, and air-to-air distance measuring equipment were included in the squadron's tasks.
VX-4 flew aircraft that were currently in operational service with the US Navy, and began their life with the
Chance Vought F7U Cutlass. Later they transitioned to the
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it ...
F3D Skyknight, redesignated
F-10. With the
AIM-7 Sparrow
The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces ...
missile being used, the
North American
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the ...
FJ Fury North American FJ Fury (also ''North American F-1 Fury'') may refer to several members of a group of fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft, built by North American Aviation for the US Navy, and related in varying degrees to the F-86 Sabre this firm ...
, Douglas
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed ...
and the McDonnell
F3H Demon replaced the Cutlass and the Skynight. When the
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prove ...
came about, the
F-8 Crusader was introduced to VX-4, and in the early 1960s the
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and ...
made its debut with VX-4. In the early 1970s the
F-14A Tomcat arrived and when the
F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now pa ...
came to the fleet, it appeared with VX-4 as well, plus newer variants of the F-14 Tomcat.
Operational tests and evaluation of airborne fighter weapons systems included the AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder and the
AIM-54 Phoenix missiles as well as radar warning devices and self-protection jammers.
January 1990 marked the end of the F-4 Phantom after nearly three decades of service with VX-4 and a few months later the F-14D Super Tomcat arrived. Also the same year they supervised the first operational test of the F-14D and the
T-45 Goshawk
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), the T-45 is ...
. Throughout the year VX-4 developed tactics for the
ALR-67
The AN/ALR-67 radar warning receiver is designed to warn an aircraft's crew of potentially hostile radar activity. It is an airborne threat warning and countermeasures control system built to be successor to the United States Navy's AN/ALR-45. N ...
radar warning receiver and contributed the system's incorporation in the F-14. VX-4 also began developing tactics for the employment of the
AIM-120 AMRAAM
The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employ ...
missile.
After Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...
in August 1990 and the Gulf War in 1991, VX-4 was instrumental in the identification of deficiencies, testing and fielding of fixes to fighter weapons systems during
Desert Shield
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
,
Desert Storm
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...
and subsequent operations in
Southwest Asia. After Desert Storm commenced in January 1991, VX-4 continued to funnel the latest information to the fleet via messages and briefings presented by VX-4 aircrews deployed aboard carriers in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
and northern
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...
.
After Desert Storm, the tempo at VX-4 returned to a more normal pace. AMRAAM testing aboard F/A-18, which began in 1991 and continued throughout the year. Evaluation of the F-14D, that had begun in 1990, likewise continued. Other 1991 projects included testing the
Swedish BOL chaff dispenser on the F-14, various Sidewinder, Sparrow and Phoenix missile evaluations and
Infra-red search and track
An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
...
set tests on the F-14D. ALR-67 (ECP-510) testing in the F/A-18 was one of the squadron's more significant projects in late 1991 and 1992. AMRAAM testing was finally completed in early 1994.
By late 1993, Hornet testing was winding down at VX-4 and preparations were underway for the transfer of all F/A-18 projects and F/A-18C/D aircraft to
VX-5 at
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is a United States military facility in California.
China Lake may also refer to:
Places in the United States
* China Lake, Kern County, California, an unincorporated community named for a nearby dry lake
*Ch ...
as an initial step in the consolidation of the two squadrons. The first Hornet departed for China Lake before the end of 1993, with the remainder of the squadron's aircraft following in early 1994.
On 30 September 1994, VX-4 was disestablished and its assets were reassigned to
VX-9
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (''AIRTEVRON NINE'', VX-9, nicknamed ''The Vampires'') is a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California. Using the tail code ''XE'', the squad ...
(Detachment Point Mugu) Vampires.
See also
*
History of the United States Navy
The history of the United States Navy divides into two major periods: the "Old Navy", a small but respected force of sailing ships that was notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" the ...
*
List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
There are hundreds of US Navy aircraft squadrons which are not currently active dating back to before World War II (the U.S. Navy operated aircraft prior to World War I, but it did not organize them in squadrons until after that war). To be mo ...
*
List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
This is a list of active United States Navy aircraft squadrons. ''Deactivated'' or ''disestablished'' squadrons are listed in the List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons.
Navy aircraft squadrons are composed of several aircraft (fr ...
References
External links
VX-4 History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vx-4
Test squadrons of the United States Navy
Military units and formations in California
Military units and formations established in 1950
Military units and formations disestablished in 1994