An F-16A Fighting Falcon jet from the command of the Navy’s most demanding fighter air combat course, known as Top Gun, was recently damaged in an aviation incident in California, according to the service.
The mishap happened at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, on Sept. 25 during recovery, resulting in damage to the “left tire or main mount,” a Navy spokesperson told Military.com. The Naval Safety Center listed it as a Class A mishap, a category of incidents that cause $2.5 million or more in damages, or a destroyed aircraft.
There were no significant injuries, according to the Navy. The F-16A was assigned to the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center but was on detachment to the Lemoore air station, according to the spokesperson.
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The Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center in Fallon, Nevada, is home to the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Course, widely known as Top Gun. The Navy describes its Top Gun course as the “most demanding air combat syllabus found anywhere in the world.”
Top Gun was established in 1969 as the U.S. Navy Fighter School.
The demanding aviation school was made popular with the 1986 hit movie “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise as a naval aviator with the call sign Maverick. Cruise reprised his role in the 2022 sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Prior to 2015, the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center was known as the Naval Strike…
