The CVW-171 Fleet in the CVW-171 Paint and Maintenance Hangar.
About
About The Squadron
The CVW-171 was a virtual naval aviation squadron based around YSFlight that has gained huge notoriety over the 6 and a half years of it's existence. It was founded in April 2006 in response to the growing need for a fair, standard-setting combat squadron, by Iceman and Hunter, on YSP1. Ever since then, the CVW-171 had been setting the community standards in skill, activity, pilot quality, and size, and is constantly improving. However, since 2010 the squadron slowly declined in activity, before it fell to inactivity at the beginning of 2013, leaving behind a legacy in the history of the YSFlight Community. As of August 2013, the squadron has begun a slow period of restoration and reorganization with two subsquadrons, VFA-131 and VFA-165. However, since Iceman's departure from YSFHQ, the CVW-171 has mainly been low in activity.
Squadron Objective
The members of CVW-171 strive for excellence in air superiority and ground attack, and aim to enhance the YSFlight multiplayer experience for everyone. Also, the CVW-171 aims to standardize combat squad aircraft performance, so that combat squadrons can compete more fairly.
General Information
Organization: Carrier Air Wing 171 is currently divided into 2 principal naval strike fighter squadrons and a training division. It has previously had up to 10 principal strike fighter squadrons with a varied array of roles, and a variety of attached units.
CVW-171 Executive Staff:
- CO:Bombcat
- XO:Doomsday
- Principal leadership duties are shared between two long serving officers, Bombcat and Doomsday.
Principal Units
Active Units
VFA-131 Flathattas
The VFA-131 is the resident Air Superiority squadron of the 171st. They secure airspace around critical targets to allow for attacks uninterrupted by other squadrons, and their gem is the F-8P Crusader, armed to the teeth with four guns that can carve enemies in half.
- CO: Doomsday
- Principal Roles: Air Superiority, Dogfighting.
- Secondary Roles: SEAD, Anti-Shipping.
- CAG Bird: F-14D Bombcat
- Other Aircraft: F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18F Super Hornet,F-8P Crusader, JAS-39M Sea Gripen
VFA-165 Black Aces
The VFA-165 is the CVW-171's resident squadron of heavy hitters. They tote the most weaponry to play the role of the Air Interdiction/Strategic Strikers. The VFA-165's gem aircraft is the A-6F, which can tote up to 36 bombs or 168 rockets on it's 6 MERs strapped to it's wings.
- CO:Bombcat
- Principal Roles: Fast Strike, Anti-Shipping, Heavy Strike
- Secondary Roles: SEAD, Air Superiority, Interception.
- CAG Bird: F-14D Bombcat
- Other Aircraft: F/A-18F Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning II, Su-33UB Sea Flanker, A-6F Intruder, F-111B Aardvark, Buccaneer S.2, TA-4J Skyhawk.
VMFA-125 Warlords
The CVW-171's MEU unit is back in it's reincarnated form as the VMFA-125 Warlords. They are our Marine squadron, flying mostly aircraft that go vertical, carry troops, or lay waste to enemy armor and small targets. Their prize fighter is the F-35B, allowing them to vertically land and take off wherever they so choose, giving them more leeway to operate than most normal carrier fighters.
- CO: Welshy
- Former CO: SvenPhantom
- Principal Roles: Close Air Support, SEAD, Battlefield Air Superiority, Rotary Wing Ground Attack.
- Secondary Roles: Combat Transport, Fast Strike.
- CAG Bird: F-35B Lighting II
- Other Aircraft: AH-1Z Cobra, Apache AH.1, F/A-18C Hornet, MV-22 Osprey, F-4S Phantom II, F-111B Aardvark.
VT-171 Nuggets
- Principal Roles: Training and Evaluation
- Unique Aircraft: T-45C Goshawk
- Other Aircraft: Entire CVW-171 Fleet.
Inactive Units
VFA-72 Stingers
The VFA-72 is the CVW-171's most diverse squadron, and they fly as our Anti-Shipping/Night Time Strike squadron. Their prize aircraft are the Su-25 and the F-4S, both rocket toting, huge-gun-armed thug aircraft that get the job done quickly and effortlessly.
- Former CO: Vandal
- Principal Roles: Anti-shipping strike, close air support, night time strike.
- Secondary Roles: Fast strike, SEAD.
- CAG Bird: Su-25UBP Frogfoot.
- Other Aircraft: F/A-18F Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning II, Su-33UB Sea Flanker, F-4S Phantom II, Buccaneer S.2, F-14D Tomcat.
VFA-42 Bloodhounds
The VFA-42 is the Bomber Interception/Long Range Fighter Sweep squadron of the 171st. They have a double role as a frontline SEAD squadron as well. They fly the standard aircraft, as well as the F-111B Aardvark and the Su-33 Flanker as heavy interceptors. They specialize in hunting large bombers and high-speed fighters.
- Former CO: Sentinel
- Principal Role: Air Superiority, with specialties in interception, long range escort, and missile combat.
- Secondary Roles: Fast strike, Dogfighting.
- CAG Bird: F-14D Tomcat
- Other Aircraft:F/A-18F Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning II, Su-33 Sea Flanker, F-4S Phantom II, F-111B Aardvark.
VFA-82 Maulers
TThe VFA-82 is the CVW-171's SEAD, or Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses squadron. They are a multirole fighter bomber squadron that double up as an air superiority squadron, with the F-8P and the F/A-18C in their arsenal of aircraft.
- Former CO: Iceman
- Principal Roles: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), Anti-Shipping Strike.
- Secondary Roles: Dogfighting, Fast Strike, Close Air Support.
- CAG Bird: F-4S Phantom II
- Other Aircraft: F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18F Super Hornet, F/A-18C Hornet, F-14D Tomcat, F-8P Crusader, Su-33 Sea Flanker, OV-10X Bronco.
HSC-37 Stingrays
- Former CO: SLI - Currently Inactive
- Principal Roles: Rotary Wing Anti-Shipping, Combat Search and Rescue
- Secondary Roles: Rotary Wing Strike, anti-helicopter Air Superiority
- Aircraft: AS565 Panther, Apache AH.1, MH-60S Seahawk
VAQ-108 Professionals
The new Forward Air Control/Reconnaisance squadron, the VAQ-108, sport aircraft of their very own. They act as our eyes and ears on the battlefield, with almost perfect stealth due to their jamming devices. The E-2D has a working contrail spotting radar with measurements and headings, to see what is in the current airspace and advise fellow CVW-171 pilots in the area.
- Former CO: Unstung
- Principal Roles: Air Warning and Control, Forward Air Control, Electronic *Support
- Secondary Roles: Reconnaissance
- CAG Bird: E-2D Hawkeye
- Other Aircraft: EA-18G Growler, TA-4J Skyhawk
VFA-201 Steel Ninjas
The VFA-201 is a squad of some of the best dogfighters in all of the YS community, grouped together to form the Night-time Air Superiority squadron. Sporting a new drab blue and black paintjob, they blend in effortlessly with the night and stalk their prey with the Rafale for a quick 20mm cannon kill.
- Former CO: FighterAce
- Principal Roles: Nighttime Air Superiority, Dogfighting
- Secondary Roles: Ningtime Escort, SEAS
- Principal Aircraft:Rafale M
- Other Aircraft: F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18F Super Hornet, JAS-39M Sea Gripen, F-14 Tomcat.
VFA-22 Ghostriders
The VFA-22 Ghost Riders are the VF-22 after they joined the CVW-171 as their host Nighttime Multirole/Aggressor squadron. They sport a completely different scheme from the CVW-171 birds, as their Ferris camo help them to stand out and look like enemy aircraft, and at the same time blend into the background of the night and disrupt the enemy's sense of direction
- Former CO: Pilot1215
- Principal Roles: Air to Ground Strike, Red Force training support
Fleet
The 171st operates a large and diverse fleet of combat aircraft. Every aircraft in the current fleet is either a real, developmental, or proposed carrier aircraft, in keeping with the wing's naval combat theme. The current pack, generation 4, was developed from the 2ch GAC pack aircraft according to the 'birdfarm' style - limited moving parts, transparent canopy, limited panel lines. This style was developed by Iceman, Animal, and Bombcat to reduce server lag during mid to large scale combat operations. The fleet can be divided into several sub-categories: Dogfighters- These aircraft all operate with a modified version of the stock F-16 dat file, and are optimized for standard air to air combat with guns.
- F-35C Lightning II
- Rafale M
- JAS-39M Sea Gripen
- F-8P Crusader
- F-35B Lightning II - this aircraft's V/STOVL capabilities substantially modify its performance.
Strike Fighters - These aircraft tend to be less agile then the dogfighters, but maintain good air to air performance. They tend to carry heavy weapons loads, and are optimized for fast attack, air to air combat, and SEAD.
- F-14D Bombcat
- F/A-18F Super Hornet
- F/A-18C Hornet
- Su-33 Sea Flanker
Heavy Strike Fighters - Fairly fast, moderately agile, and very well armed, the heavy strike fighter fleet is optimized for heavy strike and anti-shipping missions, but retains some air to air capability.
- Su-33UB Sea Flanker
- F-111B Aardvark
- F-4S Phantom (Armed with gun pods)
Attack Aircraft - These strike planes retain little if any air to air capability, but offer devastating air to ground payloads.
- A-6F Intruder
- Buccaneer S.2
- Su-25UBP Frogfoot
Close Air Support/Forward Air Control Aircraft- Characterized by lower speeds, heavy guns and rocket armament, and fairly good visibility, these planes are meant for close contact and persistence over the battlefield.
- TA-4J Skyhawk
- OV-10X Bronco
Support Aircraft- These planes fill supporting roles within the squadron's combat and non-combat operations.
- E-2D Hawkeye
- EA-18G Growler
- T-45 Goshawk
- MiG-29KUB Fulcrum
Helicopters- The 171st operates a diverse fleet of helicopters in the interdiction, close air support, rotary wing air superiority, and transport roles.
- WAH-64 Apache AH.1
- AH-1Z Cobra
- AS565 Panther
- MH-60S Seahawk
- MV-22 Osprey
Future expansion- The 171st is currently considering the following potential additions to our combat air fleet. All are historically linked to current or future 171st missions, and based our extensive aviation research:
- Sea Harrier FRS.3
- F-4S Phantom II "15 minigun fighter"
- Ground combat elements
- Ka-50 Blackshark/Alligator helicopters.
- F-14D TARPS reconnaissance Tomcats.
- KC-130J Harvest Hawk gunships.
- C-2 Greyhound Fleet logistical support aircraft.
- KA-6D Intruder tankers
History: Foundation
The 171st squadron was founded in April 2006 as a response to the Red Phoenix Fighter Squadron introduction of performance files considered to be unfair by some within the YSPilots community. Founding members included Shinji, Iceman, Hunter, and others. Operating in relative secret for about a week, the squadron began open recruitment by May of that year. Aside from the founding members, notable recruits of this time period include future CO Bombcat, the excellent dogfighter Xero, and longtime on again off again Unstung. The 171st's initial animosity with the RPFS led to occasional clashes on the YSFlight servers, and was reflected in the award scheme of the day, placing particular emphasis on kills scored against RPFS pilots. Many of the traditions which have been keys to the squadron's longevity and success began in the first year of operations. From the beginning, the 171st made extensive use of squadron servers and Teamspeak to keep in touch, and to fly as a unit. The initial fleet was eclectic, ranging from the fictional X-02 and experimental F-16XL, to the fairly mundane B-1 Bomber, Mi-24 Hind, and Japanese C-2 transport. All paints were made by Iceman, a tradition which would continue to the present day. Early on, the 171st operated as two air force style squadrons, the 171FS and 171BS. These were eventually named the Flathattas and Black Aces, names which would live on to the present as sub-squadrons which retain their principal air to air/air to ground roles. This period represents something of a 'dark age' for the squadron, as most records from 2006 were lost when the squadron migrated from a YSP1 hosted sub forum to their current independent forum.
Fleet
External links
- Squadron Pack - http://ysfhq.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1023
- Squadron Forum - http://171fsforum.co.nr