VFA-87: Difference between revisions

| unit_name = Strike Fighter Squadron 87 (VFA-87)

| caption =

| dates =

| start_date = {{Start date and age|1968|02|01|df=yes}}

| aircraft_attack = [[LTV A-7 Corsair II|A-7B/E Corsair]] (1968 - 1986)

| aircraft_bomber =

| aircraft_electronic =

| aircraft_fighter = [[McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet|F/A-18A/C/A+ Hornet]] (1986-2015)<br>[[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet|F/A-18E Super Hornet]] (2015-present)

| aircraft_helicopter_trainer =

| aircraft_helicopter_utility =

| aircraft_interceptor =

| aircraft_patrol =

| aircraft_recon =

| aircraft_trainer =

| aircraft_transport =

| aircraft_tanker =

[[File:A-7B A-4CCorsair CVWIIs of VA-1687 aboard USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14), 1968in 1969.jpg|thumb|left|Corsairs from VA-87 (background) and [[VFA-25|VA-25]] (foreground) on USS ''Ticonderoga'' in 1969.]]

In June 1968, the squadron was established as VA-87, an attack aircraft squadron and the first fleet squadron to fly the [[LTV A-7 Corsair II]], at [[NAS Cecil Field]], [[Florida]]. In March 1969, the squadron flew its first combat missions from {{USS ''|Ticonderoga''|CVA-14|6}}, striking targets in [[South Vietnam]]. In April 1969 following the [[1969 EC-121 shootdown incident|shoot down]] of a Navy E[[CEC-121 ConstellationWarning Star]] aircraft by the [[North Korea|North Koreans]]ns, ''Ticonderoga'', with VA-87 embarked, was ordered to the [[Sea of Japan]].

In 1973, the squadron protected U.S. interests during the [[Yom Kippur War]]. Transitioning to the improved A-7E Corsair II, the squadron returned in October 1976 to the [[Middle East]] following the assassination of the American ambassador to [[Lebanon]] [[Francis E. Meloy Jr.|Francis E. Meloy]] Jr, assisting in the evacuation of U.S. citizens, while embarked on ''America''.

On October 24, October 1986, the squadron transitioned to the F/A-18A Hornet and was redesignated Strike Fighter Squadron 87 (VFA-87).

Following a hasty transit to the Adriatic, the squadron spent four months flying combat sorties over the increasingly embattled former [[Yugoslavia]]. On August 30, August 1995, squadron jets were the first to strike [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian]] [[Serbia|Serb]] targets as the Operation Deliberate Force campaign commenced.

The Golden Warriors made history again by participating in combat operations in two different theaters during a single deployment, operating from {{USS|Theodore Roosevelt|CVN-71|6}}. While en route to the [[Persian Gulf]] in April 1999, crisis erupted in the former Yugoslavian republic of [[Kosovo]], prompting the largest aerial bombing campaign since the Vietnam War. In just 68 days, Golden Warrior FA-18s dropped 430,000 pounds of ordnance and flew 595 combat missions during Operation ALLIED FORCE, contributing to a [[NATO]] victory, and expelling Serbian oppressors from the war-torn province of Kosovo. In July, VFA-87 returned to the Persian Gulf and flew 176 combat missions in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. The Golden Warriors returned to their first new home in over thirty years, [[NAS Oceana]] in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vfa87.navy.mil/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317174624/http://www.vfa87.navy.mil/ |archive-date=2013-03-17 |deadurl-url=yes |dfstatus=dead }}</ref>

====Iraq and Afghanistan====

VFA-87 deployed again in September 2005 aboard ''Theodore Roosevelt'', returning on March 11, March 2006, and received the Atlantic Fleet "[[Battle E]]" award later that year.

In September 2006, the squadron transitioned from the F/A-18C to the F/A-18A+ and was again named the "Battle E" squadron for the Atlantic Fleet in March 2007. It deployed again in September 2008 to the North Arabian Sea, in support of [[Operation Enduring Freedom]] and returned home to NAS Oceana on April 18, April 2009.

In May 2011, VFA-87 departed on its most recenta deployment taking its F/A-18A+ Strike Fighters aboard the Navy's newest aircraft carrierUSS ''George H. W. Bush''. While deployed the squadron flew combat missions in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn flying over Afghanistan and Iraq respectively in support of combat troops on the ground.

In 2012 VFA-87 successfully completed four operational detachments, transitioned back to the F/A-18C by transferring 10 F/A-18A+ and accepting 11 F/A-18C aircraft. The squadron made another deployment aboard ''George H. W. Bush'' to the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean from February to November 2014. Following this deployemnt, VFA-87 converted to the F/A-18E Super Hornet.

== ==Syria ====

OnVFA-87 Junemade 18,a single deployment aboard USS ''George H. W. Bush'' from January to August 2017. During this desployment, Lieutenant Commander Michael Tremel, flying a VFA-87 [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet|F/A-18E]] [[Ja'Din shootdown incident|shot down]] a Syrian [[Sukhoi Su-17|Su-22]] after multiple observed [[Rules of engagement|ROE]] violations on 18 June 2017. The [[Sukhoi Su-17|Su-22]] had been bombing US-backed Syrian Democratic Forcesforces fighting the Islamic State.[<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/07/31/report-navy-pilot-breaks-silence-shooting-down-syrian-fighter.html][|title=Report: Navy Pilot Breaks Silence About Shooting Down Syrian Fighter|date=31 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/up-close-with-a-us-super-carrier-and-the-pilots-fresh-from-combat-operations/]|title=Up close with a US super carrier and the pilots fresh from combat operations &#124; Navy Lookout}}</ref>

*[[List of militaryUnited aircraftStates ofNavy theaircraft United Statesdesignations (navalpre-1962)]] / [[List of US Naval aircraft]]