VFC-111
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Fighter Squadron Composite 111 (VFC-111), also known as the "Sun Downers", is a
United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...
adversary squadron based at
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 ai ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Currently, it operates Northrop F-5N/F Tiger-IIs, of which most are single-seater F-5Ns and one twin-seater F-5F, the "FrankenTiger". The squadron is composed of experienced active duty junior officers, full-time active duty Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR) personnel, and mid-grade part-time Selected Reservists (SELRES), with the SELRES pilots having extensive past active duty experience in Navy strike fighter squadrons. This gives the squadron real-world experience, as well as leveraging off that experience by retaining talented instructor fighter pilots that have left active service but transitioned to the Navy Reserve.Ted, Carlson. "One-Eleven Heaven" ''
Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' (AFM) is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing Ltd, based at Stamford in the English county of Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Established in 1988, the magazine provides news and analysis on mi ...
'' (
Key Publishing Key Publishing is a magazine publishing company specialising in aviation titles, based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. History ''Airliner World'' was launched in 1999. In 2005 it launched ''Airports of the World'', and in the same year it ...
), Issue 283, October 2011, pp. 48. . Retrieved: 10 October 2011.


History

VFC-111 was originally known as Fighter Composite Squadron 13 ( VFC-13) Detachment Key West, which was established in January 2006. VFC-13 Det Key West was redesignated as VFC-111 in November 2006. VFC-111 assumed its 'Sun Downer' insignia, callsign, and traditions from the Fighter Squadron One Eleven (
VF-111 Fighter Squadron 111 (VF-111), also known as the ''Sundowners'', was a fighter squadron of the United States Navy. Originally established as Fighter Squadron 11 (VF-11) on 10 October 1942, it was redesignated as VF-11A on 15 November 1946, redesig ...
) ''Sun Downers'', a famous
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
fighter squadron with extensive combat history as a carrier-based F-8 Crusader and
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 that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...
squadron during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and as an F-4 and
F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...
squadron during the latter part of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, as well as
Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...
and
Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...
. VF-111 was disestablished as a fleet squadron at then- NAS Miramar, California in 1995 due to post-Cold War force reductions. Officially, in contrast with the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy does not recognize a direct lineage with disestablished squadrons. However, unofficially, the Naval Aviation community strives to retain traditions and history whenever a squadron designation and name is resurrected in a new unit.


Mission

VFC-111 operates as part of the U.S. Navy Reserve's fleet adversary program, providing dissimilar air combat training (DACT) to fleet strike fighter and Marine fighter attack squadrons, as well as U.S. Air Force,
Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
and
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...
fighter squadrons. Ostensibly assigned to the Navy Reserve's Tactical Support Wing, VFC-111 is actually an Active-Reserve Integration (ARI) unit composed of both Regular Navy and Navy Reserve personnel. In this capacity, it has assumed the adversary role of a since deactivated active duty squadron at
NAS 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 ai ...
known as Fighter Squadron 45 (VF-45). VFC-111's unique location at NAS Key West, Florida, home of the Navy's Strike Fighter Air Readiness Program (SFARP), eliminates costly adversary detachments and provides an on-site resource for
carrier air wing A carrier air wing (abbreviated CVW) is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadron (aviation), squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing and rotorcraft, rotary-wing a ...
s conducting SFARP training at NAS Key West and on the adjacent Key West Tactical Air Combat Training System (TACTS) Range. VFC-111 also provides a significant portion of adversary support to all F/A-18
Fleet Replacement Squadron A Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), is a unit of the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps that trains United States Naval Aviator, Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers (NFOs) and enlisted Naval aircrewman, Naval Aircre ...
s (FRS) in the Navy and Marine Corps, i.e., VFA-106 at NAS Oceana, Virginia; VFA-122 at
NAS Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County, California, Kings County and Fresno County, California, Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, California, Lemoore Station, a cen ...
, California; and VMFAT-101 at
MCAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, San Diego, ...
, California. VFC-111 has also commenced support to VAQ-129, the FRS for the
EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American aircraft carrier, carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA- ...
at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, as well as the Navy and Marine Corps F-35C Fleet Replacement Squadron, VFA-125 at NAS Lemoore, California, and the Marine Corps' F-35B Fleet Replacement Squadron, VMFAT-501 at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina.


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 became notable for innovation in the use of ironclads during the American Civil War, and the "New Navy" ...
*
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. The U.S. Navy uses the term "squadron" only to describe uni ...
* List of Inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons


References


External links


Official VFC-111 website
{{United States Navy Aircraft Squadrons Fleet fighter composite squadrons of the United States Navy