NAS Fallon is the Navy’s premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facilities. Located just southeast of Fallon, Nevada, the base has been in operation since 1942. Since late 1996, the base has been home to the Naval Fighter Weapons School (known as TOPGUN). The base is surrounded by roughly 84,000 acres of bombing test grounds.
When NAS Fallon was built in 1942, its purpose was to defend the West Coast from a possible Japanese invasion. Since the invasion never actually happened, the Navy adapted the base to be useful still. Instead of shutting the base down, the Navy took it over to train their personnel. The base was upgraded to a Major Command by the Navy on the first of January, 1972, signifying its importance as a training center. In 1996, TOPGUN was transferred from NAS Miramar to NAS Fallon, further increasing its strategic importance to the US Navy. It’s not the biggest base the Navy has, nor the most populated, but it’s a very important base because of the training it offers, as well as the strategic location.