In April 1969 following the shoot down of a Navy EC-121 Warning Star aircraft by the North Koreans, Ticonderoga, with VA-87 embarked, was ordered to the Sea of Japan.

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, assisting in the evacuation of U.S. citizens, while embarked on America.

On 28 December 1990, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the squadron deployed for Operation Desert Storm, flying 629 sorties over 43 days of intense combat.

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.

[1] In April 2001, VFA-87 deployed on a Persian Gulf cruise enforcing the no fly zone over Southern Iraq aboard USS Enterprise until the September 11 attacks occurred.

The squadron was then held on station along with the entire Enterprise battle group, to conduct first strike combat missions over Afghanistan against embedded Taliban targets.

It deployed again in September 2008 to the North Arabian Sea, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and returned home to NAS Oceana on 18 April 2009.

VFA-87 participated in three embarked periods in preparation for the maiden deployment of USS George H. W. Bush, including a deck qualification, Independent Steaming Exercise (ISE), and Tailored Ship's Training Assessment (TSTA).

During this desployment, Lieutenant Commander Michael Tremel, flying a VFA-87 F/A-18E shot down a Syrian Su-22 after multiple observed ROE violations on 18 June 2017.