United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program

The program began as the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, established on 3 March 1969,[1] at the former Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.

[8][9][10][5][11] Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific and Marine Training Groups were closed, as an economy,[12] and a doctrinal shift, brought on by advances in missile, radar, and fire control technology, contributing to the belief that the era of the classic dogfight was over, leading to their disestablishment and a serious decline in U.S. air-to-air combat proficiency that became apparent during the Vietnam War.

[18][19] The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established on 3 March 1969, at Naval Air Station Miramar, California.

Its staff consisted of eight F-4 Phantom II instructors from VF-121 and one intelligence officer hand-picked by the school's first officer-in-charge, Lieutenant Commander Dan Pedersen, USN.

It serves to build a nucleus of eminently knowledgeable fighter crews to construct, guide, and enhance weapons training cycles and subsequent aircrew performance.

The curriculum was in a constant state of flux based upon class critiques and integration of developing tactics to use new systems to combat emerging threats.

"[27] However, the British naval pilots mentioned in the article confirmed that the claim was false and that they had no role in creating the curriculum and no access to the classified programs that the Top Gun instructors participated in to refine it.

[28] During the halt in the bombing campaign against North Vietnam (in force from 1968 until the early 1970s), Top Gun established itself as a center of excellence in fighter doctrine, tactics, and training.

[24] In contrast, the Air Force, which had not implemented a similar training program, saw its kill ratio worsen for a time after the resumption of bombing, according to Benjamin Lambeth's The Transformation of American Airpower.

On 28 March 1970, Lieutenant Jerry Beaulier, a graduate of Top Gun's first class, scored the first kill of a North Vietnamese MiG since September 1968.