VF-213 'Blacklions' hone bombing skills in Fallon
by Lt. Jg. Meagan Varley, PAO VF-213
The 'Fighting Blacklions' of Fighter Squadron 213 traveled to sunny NAS Fallon, Nev. to participate in Air-to-Ground Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program. From Feb. 12 to March 5, the Blacklions along with other members of Carrier Air wing 8 flew cross-country to take advantage the excellent live bombing ranges found in western Nevada. For three weeks the air crews worked on their proficiency as air-to-ground bombers completing more than 200 sorties and logging 297 flight hours.
The focus of the Blacklion's training was to prepare for their upcoming deployment at the end of the summer. With this in mind and despite unsupportive weather, 48 Strike Fighter Weapons Training events for individual air crew and 33 SFARP events were completed. In addition to this, multiple flights to complete Night Vision Devices qualifications were flown, and five new air crew were qualified.
Despite the weather and long hours the Blacklions maintainers worked hard to keep the jets flying and well armed with ordnance. Their dedication kept the jets running at peak performance and enabled the Blacklions to drop more than 53 tons of ordnance. Throughout the course of the detachment 116 MK-82s, 18 MK-83s and 617 rounds of 20MM were expended from the jets. This invaluable training was completed due to the hard work and long hours of the VF-213 maintainers and ground support.
VF-213 will continue to rely on the dedication of its troops on their upcoming training on board USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) to complete Tailored Ship's Training Assessment.
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