TOPGUN was formerly known officially as the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, and was established on March 3, 1969 at NAS Miramar, California after a United States Navy report recommended that a graduate-level school be established to train Fleet fighter pilots in air combat tactics to counter the relatively poor air combat performance being experienced by Navy aircrews over Vietnam. The school initially operated the A-4 Skyhawk and F-5 Freedom Fighter to instruct F-4 Phantom II aircrews, including the first US aces of the Vietnam War, Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll. The 1970s and 1980s brought with them the introduction of the F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet as the primary Fleet fighter aircraft flown by students, while TOPGUN instructors retained their A-4s and F-5s, but also added the F-16 Fighting Falcon to better simulate the threat presented by the Soviet Union's new 4th generation MiG-29 'Fulcrum' and Su-27 'Flanker' fighters. During the 1990s, the TOPGUN syllabus was modified to include more emphasis on the air-to-ground strike mission as a result of the expanding multi-mission taskings of the F-14 and F/A-18. In addition, TOPGUN retired their F-4s, A-4s, and F-5s in favor of F-16s and F/A-18s. In 1996, the transfer of NAS Miramar to the Marine Corps was coupled with the incorporation of TOPGUN into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon, Nevada. TOPGUN instructors currently fly the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-16 Falcon. Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 124 (VAW-124), also known as the World Famous "Bear Aces", is a United States Navy Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron based at Naval Air Station Norfolk,Virginia. The "Bear Aces" are an operational fleet squadron flying the E-2C Hawkeye. They are attached to Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) while deployed aboard the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77). On 21 January 1991, CVW-8 launched its first major strike of Operation Desert Storm with the squadron providing AEW, command and control, and search and rescue coordination. When the cease-fire went into effect on 28 February, the squadron had flown a total of 331 combat sorties and over 1150 combat hours in support of 1220 strikes against 531 targets in the Kuwait Theater of Operations, the most combat hours and combat sorties of any E-2C squadron, over 750 of the combat hours were flown in a single thirty-day period. After transiting the Suez Canal on 20 April, USS Theodore Roosevelt assumed station northeast of Cyprus between Turkey and Syria to lead a multi-national Operation Provide Comfort. On 26 June 1991, the squadron returned to its home port.[1] In August, VAW-124 was awarded the 1991 AEW Excellence Award by VADM Anthony Less, Commander, U.S. Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet. This award is given annually to the finest E-2C squadron in the Navy. In April 1999, VAW-124 departed Norfolk on a combat deployment aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt. The squadron flew combat missions during Operation Allied Force against targets in Kosovo. Transiting to the Persian Gulf, the squadron completed the deployment enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq in Operation Southern WatchIn 2011 the squadron deployed on board USS George H.W. Bush for her maiden deployment. During the deployment, Carrier Strike Group Two provided support of Exercise Saxon Warrior, Joint Task Force Horn of Africa and Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. In addition to combat operations, the squadron supported Exercise Nautical Artist by sending a detachment of their aircrew to Saudi Arabia. The squadron also facilitated the drawdown of coalition forces in Iraq. During this deployment, the squadron completed 552 sorties and 2,643 mishap-free flight hours. In recognition of their performance, they received the 2011 Battle "E", 2011 COMACLOGWING East Coast Top Hook Award and the 2011 Blue "M".[2] On February 15, 2014, the squadron again deployed on board USS George H.W. Bush. During the deployment, the squadron supported Operation Enduring Freedom until the sudden collapse of the Government of Iraq resulted in USS George H.W. Bush being redeployed within 30 hours to Iraq. VAW-124 provided Tactical Command and Control during the initial response of Operation Inherent Resolve and took part in the initial strikes against ISIS. The squadron returned to Norfolk on 15 November 2014. In 2015, the squadron was awarded the 2014 CNAL Battle "E," 2014 Safety "S," and 2014 Akers Award for AEW Excellence.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 Company for the United States Navy as a replacement for the earlier, piston-engined E-1 Tracer, which was rapidly becoming obsolete. The aircraft's performance has been upgraded with the E-2B, and E-2C versions, where most of the changes were made to the radar and radio communications due to advances in electronic integrated circuits and other electronics. The fourth major version of the Hawkeye is the E-2D, which first flew in 2007. The E-2 was the first aircraft designed specifically for its role, as opposed to a modification of an existing airframe, such as the Boeing E-3 Sentry. Variants of the Hawkeye have been in continuous production since 1960, giving it the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft. The E-2 also received the nickname "Super Fudd"[2] because it replaced the WF (later E-1) "Willy Fudd". In recent decades, the E-2 has been commonly referred to as the "Hummer" because of the distinctive sounds of its turboprop engines, quite unlike that of turbojet and turbofan jet engines. In addition to U.S. Navy service, smaller numbers of E-2s have been sold to the armed forces of Egypt, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Taiwan.

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