[1][8] The leading edge slats were designed to drop automatically at the appropriate speed by gravity and air pressure, saving weight and space by omitting actuation motors and switches.

This allows the aircraft to supply others of the same type, reducing the need for dedicated tanker aircraft—a particular advantage for small air arms or when operating in remote locations.

This allows for greatly improved operational flexibility and reassurance against the loss or malfunction of tanker aircraft, though this procedure reduces the effective combat force on board the carrier.

A designated supply A-4 would mount a center-mounted "buddy store", a large external fuel tank with a hose reel in the aft section and an extensible drogue refueling bucket.

These older ships were often unable to accommodate newer Navy fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II and F-8 Crusader, which were faster and more capable than the A-4, but significantly larger and heavier.

The last U.S. Navy Skyhawks, TA-4J models belonging to the composite squadron VC-8, remained in military use for target towing, and as adversary aircraft, for combat training at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads.

The A-4B lacked an air-to-air radar, and it required visual identification of targets and guidance from either ships or an airborne Grumman E-1 Tracer AEW aircraft.

Lightweight and safer to land on smaller decks, Skyhawks would later also play a similar role flying from Australian, Argentinean, and Brazilian upgraded World War II surplus light ASW carriers, which were unable to operate most large modern fighters.

The first combat loss of an A-4 occurred on 5 August 1964, when Lieutenant junior grade Everett Alvarez, of VA-144 aboard USS Constellation, was shot down while attacking enemy torpedo boats in North Vietnam.

On 1 June 1965, the Chu Lai Short Airfield for Tactical Support (SATS) was officially opened with the arrival of eight Skyhawks from Cubi Point, Philippine Islands.

Modified aircraft, called "Mongoose", lost the dorsal hump, the 20 mm cannon with their ammo systems, and the external stores, although sometimes the centerline station was kept.

The squadrons eventually began to display vivid threat type paint schemes signifying their transition into the primary role of Adversary training.

The aircraft were instrumental in training and development of ACM for Naval Air Reserve fighter squadrons VF-201 and VF-202 flying the F-4 Phantom II and later the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

[33] The U.S. gradually provided numerous conventional munitions to arm the aircraft with, but was initially limited, refusing to supply cluster bombs or napalm.

[34] The Skyhawk became the first U.S. warplane to be offered to the Israeli Air Force (IAF), marking the point where the U.S took over France as Israel's chief military supplier.

[45][46] During the Yom Kippur War, IAF Skyhawks carried out numerous bombing missions, flying a considerable proportion of the tactical sorties made throughout the conflict.

[47] The vast majority of losses incurred were from surface to air missiles (SAMs); as many of 30 IAF aircraft were lost in a single day while resisting Egyptian and Syrian advances.

[55] However, official IAF statistics do not list any downing of Israeli warplanes since the Yom Kippur War,[56] and no loss of aircraft was reported on that date.

[59] In October 2008, it was decided that, due to maintenance issues, the Skyhawk fleet would be withdrawn and replaced by more modern aircraft, able to perform equally well in the training role and, if required, close support and interdiction missions on the battlefield.

[63] In July 2013, Israel began a program called Teuza (boldness) for the purpose of turning some military bases into sales lots for obsolete IDF equipment.

[citation needed] The Argentine Naval Aviation also bought the Skyhawk known as A-4Q in the form of 16 A-4Bs in 1972, which unlike the Air Force's A-4Ps, were powered by 8,400 lbf (40 kN) J-65-W-20 engines and fitted to use Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

[66] The U.S. placed an embargo of spare parts in 1977 due to the Dirty War,[citation needed] backing the Humphrey-Kennedy amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1976, the Carter administration placed an embargo on the sale of arms and spare parts to Argentina and on the training of its military personnel (which was lifted in the 1990s under Carlos Menem's presidency when Argentina became a major non-NATO ally).

[73] Argentine Navy A-4Qs, flying from Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego naval air station, also played a role in the bombing attacks against British ships, destroying the Type 21 Ardent.

[78] During November 1974, the Kuwaiti government announced its intention to purchase 36 new-build Skyhawks, along with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, support apparatus, and spares in exchange for $250 million.

[81] Assisted by the U.S. State Department, fruitless negotiations took place with both Bosnia and the Philippines; in 1998, the fleet was sold to Brazil, where they served aboard the aircraft carrier NAe São Paulo[81][88] prior to its decommissioning in February 2017.

[93] During 1986, Project Kahu was launched to upgrade the RNZAF's Skyhawks with new avionics, including an AN/APG-66 NZ radar based on that used by the F-16, and weapons, as a lower-cost alternative to buying new replacements.

[104] Due to the declining relationship between Indonesia and the Soviet Union after the events of G30S, there was a lack of spare parts for military hardware supplied by the Communist Bloc.

[105] As a consequence, many of the Indonesian Air Force's modern combat aircraft, such as its MiGs and bomber fleet consisting of Il-28 Beagles and Tu-16 Badgers, were effectively inoperable by the early 1970s, and were subsequently grounded.

Forty of the airframes were upgraded with the Hughes AN/ASB-19 Angle Rate Bombing System, air refueling capability, and increased payload, while the rest were kept in the U.S. as a reserve and as a source of spare parts.

[136][137] Another major civil user of A-4s for training support to military forces is US-based Draken International, which operates ex-New Zealand A-4Ks as part of a diverse fleet of jets.