The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center was created in 1996 and incorporated TOPGUN as part of its program.

I attended TOPGUN in 1988. Today’s TOPGUN is the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) class at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center is the center for developing tactics and training to create a better fighter pilot for the Navy. Today the Navy uses only F-18’s as their strike-fighter. “Strike” is synonymous with dropping bombs, and the F-18 can both deliver a bomb on target as well as shoot down other aircraft. The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center trains individuals in the art of air-to-air and air-to-ground superiority as well as joint battlefield operations. When I attended TOPGUN I flew the F-14 against the A-4, F-5, F-18, F-16, and the Kfir which is an Israeli Mirage-3, in my training. The flying was both vigorous and fun.

It was experiences such as these which eventually led me to write West of the Rock where I describe just what it is like to live the life of a Navy fighter pilot. It is a vivid account of what training is like to become a pilot in the Navy, what it is like to live and fly off an aircraft carrier, and the dangers that are faced. Attending the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center is only a small part of it.

Not many pilots are able to attend the TOPGUN class at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center or even become Naval Aviators flying aircraft off an aircraft carrier. If you have ever wondered what it is like, what they don’t tell you about, then reading this book is as close as you can get to actually living that life.

Want to learn more about the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center? Get your copy of West of the Rock today!

 

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