On March 6th I got to visit NAS Fallon in northern Nevada, home of the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). Carrier Wing 5 was visiting from Atsugi Japan and that provided the opportunity to see some squadrons not normally seen stateside.

Also it was my first time seeing the NSAWC aircraft, of which the Navy Vipers were one of the highlights.

The day began fairly clouded over, but after midday the sun was shining and the winds were quite strong.

This caused all departures to use runway 25 which provided great departure and recovery opportunities. We spent the morning touring the NSAWC ramp and the afternoon beside the runway.

Squadrons seen:

VFA-115 Eagles
VFA-27 Royal Maces
VFA-102 Diamondbacks
VFA-204 River Rattlers
VAW-117 The Wallbangers
VAQ-138 Yellowjackets

as well as the aggressor jets from VFC-12 and VFC-13

I want to thank Zip Upham and MC1 Terry Matlock for their hospitality and providing the opportunity to visit and photograph this impressive facility. Also appreciate the wealth of information provided.