Situated on the edge of the desert in the Lahontan Valley and neatly tucked within a mostly agricultural area is NAS Fallon.
The airfield was built in 1942 as part of the Western Defence Program, which was created to repel the expected Japanese attach on the west coast, which of course never came to fruition.
It was subsequently commissioned in 1944 initially with two 5,200 foot runways, but as the treat from Japan quickly ceased in 1945 the need for the base was reduced and by 1946 the status of the base was reduced to caretaker.
When the Korean War started the need for training again was paramount and the base was again opened up.
The Navy has used the base primarily in the same role from its date of interception as their primary base for combat support and training, normally referred to nowadays as aggressor training.
This role was further reinforced when the famous Top Gun school moved from Miramar to here in the mid nineties when that base was handed over to the Marine Corps.
The base ranges cover a massive 10,200 square miles of airspace out to the east of the airfield, and one of the runways is now 14,000 feet long.
The base is big enough to be able to host an entire carrier wing for training and while we visited CWV-3 was partly in attendance.
Current flying residents include VFC-13 (Flying Saints) with Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II's, NSAWC (Naval Strike Air Warfare Center) with F/A-18A/B's and SH-60F's, and the Longhorn SAR unit with UH-1N's.
The most striking thing for me about this base was the variety of camouflages used on the F-5 and F/A-18's - which makes for some great photographic opportunities.
We were afforded excellent ramp access to the based aggressor units and a great view via the tower.
There were also two ATAC IAI Kfir C-2's parked at the remote southern ramp, but their one sortie for the day was scheduled after we were due to leave the base.
The Air Power Park hosts no less than 15 aircraft nicely spaced for photos and the gate is host to no less than four aircraft – a A-5 Vigilante is also parked along one of the main roads. There is also an S-3 Viking currently parked on the southern ramp that will either end up in the Air Power Park or be used on the ranges – let's hope it the former.
[photo/serial list]This article was published in the March 2007 edition of Fence Check online magazine.