Naval Air Station Fallon (NFL/KNFL)

 United States Navy, naval air station

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4755 Pasture Rd.
Fallon, NV 89406
(775) 426-3000

Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located in the city of Fallon in western Nevada in the United States. Since 1996 it has been home to the Naval Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), and the surrounding area contains 84,000 acres (340 km²) of bombing and electronic warfare ranges. It is also home for the Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructor School (SWTI), and the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). Navy SEAL Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) training also takes place here.

The airfield at NAS Fallon was originally built in 1942 as part of a defensive network to repel a hypothetical Japanese invasion of the west coast. It was soon taken over by the Navy for training use and has been used as such ever since with the exception of the period of 1946 to 1951, during which it was used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On January 1, 1972, the Navy recognized Fallon's importance to naval aviation by upgrading the base to a major command. While Fallon NAS provides training for visiting Carrier air wings, the Strike Fighter Squadron 127, the "Desert Bogeys", was the air station's only permanently based squadron from October 1987 until it was disestablished on March 23, 1996.

The Navy relocated its Navy Fighter Weapons School, or TOPGUN, from NAS Miramar to NAS Fallon, resulting in the construction of a new ramp, hangars and academic buildings. The new command, NSAWC, was established on July 11, 1996 and was a unification of TOPGUN, Strike U, the Naval Strike Warfare Center, and TOPDOME, the Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School. In addition to transferring the NSAWC squadron, VFC-13 was also permanently based at NAS Fallon.

Associated bombing ranges checker the surrounding Lahontan Valley and Dixie Valley, which is the next valley to the east. Dixie Valley also contains a simulated air defense network, including approximately 20 operational radar installations. Many demilitarized armored vehicles, including some exotics, have been scattered throughout the area, presumably for ambiance. Most of this area is publicly accessible, with the exception of areas immediately surrounding the radar installations.

www.airnav.com/airport/KNFL
(Source:Wikipedia)