Two US Navy squadrons have held the designation VA-25. The first VA-25 would eventually become
VA-65 and is not related to the subject of this article. The second VA-25 has a direct lineage to the current VFA-25 "Fist of the Fleet".
1940s on , 1945 The squadron was originally commissioned as Torpedo Squadron 17 (VT-17) on 1 January 1943 at
NAS Norfolk flying the
Grumman TBF Avenger. On 10 September 1943 the squadron embarked on the
aircraft carrier , en route from Norfolk to
Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii via the
Panama Canal and
San Diego,
California. On 11 November 1943 the squadron flew its first combat sorties, striking targets in
Rabaul. The squadron flew numerous combat missions through February 1944, striking targets in
Kavieng,
Kwajalein,
Eniwetok,
Truk and
Tinian. In February 1945, the squadron flew numerous combat missions against targets in Japan and the
Bonin Islands and provided ground support for the
Invasion of Iwo Jima. In March 1945, VT-17 aircraft struck Japanese ships in the
East China Sea,
Inland Sea and around the
Ryukyu Islands and land based targets in and around
Okinawa. On 7 April 1945, VT-17, along with other units from the task force, attacked a Japanese naval force composed of the super-
battleship and her escorts, scoring several torpedo hits on
Yamato and sinking one of her
destroyer escorts. From April–June 1945, combat missions were flown against targets in and around Okinawa in preparation for the invasion of that island, targets in and around
Kyushu,
Shikoku and ships in the East China Sea. In March 1946 the squadron transitioned to the
SB2C Helldiver attack bomber, and was redesignated as VA-6B on 15 November 1946. On 23 September 1947, the squadron transitioned to the
AD-1 Skyraider, affectionately nicknamed the "Spad," the type it would fly for the next 21 years. The squadron sailed aboard on its maiden voyage in early 1948, and was redesignated as VA-65 on 27 July 1948. From October 27 to November 23, 1949, VA-65 embarked on , to the
Davis Straits area conducting cold weather exercises.
1950s The outbreak of hostilities with which would become the
Korean War saw the squadron transferred to
NAS Moffett Field, California. On 15 September 1950, embarked aboard , squadron aircraft participated in combat strikes against shore defenses in and around
Incheon, Korea, just before the
landings at Incheon. On 1 October 1950, VA-65 aircraft struck the North Korean capital of
Pyongyang, hitting the airfield and scoring a direct hit on a large electrical power plant. On 23 June 1952, VA-65's Skyraiders participated in the
Attack on the Sui-ho Dam on the
Yalu River. In February 1955, while embarked on and operating in the
Formosa Straits, the squadron provided air support during the evacuation of Nationalist Chinese forces from the
Tachen Islands which had
come under bombardment by the
People’s Republic of China. On 1 July 1959 the squadron was redesignated Attack Squadron Twenty-five (VA-25).
1960s In March 1961, the squadron, while embarked on . operated in the
South China Sea during the
Laotian crisis. In 1962, the squadron moved to its current home, the newly completed
NAS Lemoore. From April 1965 through 6 April 1968, the squadron made three deployments in support of the
Vietnam War, still flying the A-1. During this period, squadron pilots flew over 3,000 combat missions, dropping more than 10 million pounds of ordnance on enemy targets. On 20 June 1965, four VA-25 "Spads" were engaged by two Vietnamese
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s deep in
North Vietnam — two of the squadron pilots were credited with a successful guns kill against one of the jet-powered fighters. In January 1968, squadron aircraft provided close air support for
U.S. Marines besieged at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. In October 1968, the squadron, by then the last tactical propeller driven squadron in the Navy, transitioned from the A-1 to the
A-7 Corsair II. After only four months of training, the squadron returned to the Vietnam War aboard . It was during this cruise that the squadron set a record — in 33 flying days, pilots flew 1,650 sorties in combat, each averaging over 92 hours in the air.
1970s In October 1970, the squadron began a long relationship with , nicknamed "Top Gun." In the following two years, the squadron made two more combat cruises, expending over 15 million pounds of ordnance on targets in Laos and Vietnam. On 21 November 1970, squadron aircraft flew in support of
Operation Ivory Coast, the attempt to free American
prisoners of war from
Son Tay, west of
Hanoi. The squadron made four more deployments aboard
Ranger in the 1970s. In December 1972, the squadron participated in
Operation Linebacker II, heavy air strikes against targets primarily around
Hanoi and
Haiphong. On 15 January 1973, the squadron participated in a large laser-guided bombing attack against bridge targets in North Vietnam. This coordinated strike, led by
VA-145, used the
A-6 Intruder's Pave Knife Laser Designation System to attack 14 North Vietnamese bridges with
Mark 83 and Mark 84 laser-guided bombs dropped by the A-6A and A-7E aircraft. Following the
ceasefire with North Vietnam on 27 January 1973, the squadron concentrated its attention on strikes against lines-of-communication targets in Laos until an agreement was reached with that country. In July 1976 following the
Israeli raid on Entebbe,
Ranger, with VA-25 embarked, was ordered to transit from the
South China Sea to the western
Indian Ocean and operate off the coast of
Kenya.
1980s VA-25 was on station in the
Indian Ocean during the
Iran hostage crisis. In May 1984, the squadron began training in the
F/A-18A Hornet. The squadron was redesignated as Strike Fighter Squadron 25 (VFA-25) on 1 July 1984. Operational air wing training in multiple air-to-air and air-to-ground exercises with were conducted for the remainder of 1984 through January 1985. In February 1985, the squadron departed on the first deployment of the F/A-18 Hornet aboard USS
Constellation to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. In July 1987 during the
Iran–Iraq War, VFA-25 provided air cover for reflagged tankers transiting the
Strait of Hormuz during
Operation Earnest Will. In June 1989, the squadron transitioned to the F/A-18C.
1990s When
Iraq invaded
Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the squadron operated from , flying combat patrols in support of
Operation Desert Shield from the
Gulf of Oman for three months before being relieved by . In 1994, aboard the squadron operated extensively in the
Persian Gulf, flying missions over Iraq in support of
Operation Southern Watch. In 1996, the squadron continued its participation in Operation Southern Watch and
Operation Desert Strike. After being on station for more than three months, the squadron returned from deployment on November 12, 1996. In 1998, the squadron deployed on , where it enforced
United Nations no-fly zones in Iraq.
2000s In 2000, the squadron dropped several bombs on selected tactical targets in southern Iraq, and continued to patrol the skies in the Persian Gulf. In July 2002, the squadron left NAS Lemoore for a regularly scheduled six-month deployment aboard
Abraham Lincoln, seeing action over
Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom as well as over Iraq, in support of Operation Southern Watch. In late 2002, as the United States moved closer to military action against Iraq,
Abraham Lincoln was ordered to stay on station in the Persian Gulf. After a total of three extensions and approaching the ship's tenth month away from home, the
Iraq War began. On 19 March 2003, the squadron began combat sorties, participating in the first-night air strikes on
Baghdad. The squadron sustained an average of 20 daily combat sorties, while striking targets in
Basra,
An Nasiriya,
Al Kut,
Najaf,
Al Hillah and ultimately Baghdad. The squadron’s 272 combat sorties over 18 straight days struck the Iraqi regime’s Medina, Baghdad, and Nebuchadnezzar Armored Divisions, military airfields, facilities and command and control infrastructure. VFA-25 returned to the United States in May 2003. VFA-25 deployed aboard in May 2004 to the Western Pacific, returning 1 November 2004. From January to July 6, 2006, VFA-25 deployed with
CVW-14 in support of the Iraq War and
Valiant Shield aboard on her maiden voyage. In January 2007, VFA-25 deployed for a 3-month "surge deployment" to the
U.S. Seventh Fleet Area of Operations. VFA-25 deployed again to the WESTPAC from June to November 2008. On May 28, 2009, VFA-25 and Carrier Air Wing 14 deployed with USS
Ronald Reagan on a deployment to the
7th and
5th Fleet Areas of Responsibility. In 2010, VFA-25 joined
Carrier Air Wing Seventeen deployed aboard sporting the "AA" tailcode leaving
Carrier Air Wing Fourteen and the "NK" tailcode for the first time in decades. Following a successful combat deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012, VFA-25 returned to NAS Lemoore to transition to the
F/A-18E Super Hornet, completing the transition in late January 2013 and was reassigned to
CVW-9. In 2019, the Squadron deployed aboard as part of
Carrier Air Wing 7 for the ship's homeport change to San Diego. In 2021, the squadron returned to a
Pacific Fleet Carrier Air Wing, specifically
Carrier Air Wing 11. The squadron currently operates the Block III advanced Super Hornet as of 2026. ==In popular culture==