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NAS Pensacola VT-86, T-45 Goshawk

NAS Pensacola VT-86, T-45 Goshawk poster art.

The VT-86 “SabreHawks”, also known as Training Squadron 86, is an aircraft flight training squadron of the United States Navy. VT-86’s mission is to provide advanced flight instruction to Student Naval Flight Officers (NFO) destined for strike fighter, bomber and electronic warfare aircraft in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, as well as continuing training for international students destined for similar aircraft. The squadron syllabus builds on that training previously received in the primary and intermediate NFO training squadrons, with additional emphasis on systems, instrument and radar navigation, radar intercept and attack, high-speed low-level flight, advanced aerial combat maneuvering and advanced communications. The McDonnell Douglas (now BoeingT-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the BAE Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. The T-45 is used by the U.S. Navy as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.