The Real TOPGUN

During September 1968, in response to its fighter pilots' poor performance in air-to-air combat against North Vietnamese MiGs the US Navy established the Navy Fighter Weapons School. By the time its first students arrived early in 1969, the school had become TOPGUN, a name that has become aviation legend. Operating under the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center at Naval Air Station Fallon, today's TOPGUN delivers Strike Fighter Tactics, Instructor, and Air Intercept Controller courses against a backdrop of fifth-generation airpower.

This special publication celebrates TOPGUN's people, details its aircraft and weapons, examines its evolution, and sets its achievements in the global context of US Naval Aviation.