NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA
East Coast Master Jet Base — home of every Atlantic Fleet Super Hornet.
OVERVIEW
Naval Air Station Oceana is the U.S. Navy's East Coast Master Jet Base, occupying nearly 6,000 acres in Virginia Beach, Virginia, just inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Every Atlantic Fleet F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadron is homeported at Oceana, making it the operational center of gravity for East Coast naval strike-fighter aviation. The base is named Apollo Soucek Field after a former Naval Air Test Center commander and two-time world altitude record holder.
Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, the type commander for East Coast strike fighters, is headquartered at Oceana, along with VFA-106 — the East Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron where Atlantic Fleet pilots and weapons systems officers learn to fly the Super Hornet. The base operates four runways, including a 12,000-foot principal strip, and supports an outlying Field Carrier Landing Practice site at NALF Fentress in nearby Chesapeake. With roughly 219,000 flight operations annually, Oceana is one of the busiest tactical jet bases in the world and a defining feature of the Hampton Roads aviation environment, working in close concert with Naval Station Norfolk and the rest of the regional Navy enterprise.
KEY FACTS
- DesignationEast Coast Master Jet Base
- AircraftF/A-18E/F Super Hornet
- RunwaysFour runways including the 12,000-foot 5R/23L
- Annual OperationsRoughly 219,000 flight operations per year
- Auxiliary FieldNALF Fentress in Chesapeake, VA — Field Carrier Landing Practice
HISTORY
Naval Air Station Oceana was established in 1943 as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Oceana, a satellite field intended to support training operations under the wartime expansion of Naval Air Station Norfolk. The original site, in then-rural Princess Anne County, consisted of two unpaved runways, several wooden hangars, and barracks for instructor pilots flying carrier-replacement and operational training squadrons. As the war effort grew, Oceana expanded with paved runways and additional support infrastructure, supporting the workup of carrier air groups bound for Atlantic and Pacific operations.
After World War II, the Navy retained Oceana and began permanent investment in the field. In 1952 it was redesignated a master jet base, reflecting the Navy's decision to consolidate its East Coast tactical jet aviation in Virginia Beach as the new generation of jet aircraft — the F-9 Cougar, F-2 Banshee, and F-3 Demon — replaced piston-engine fighters. The airfield was renamed Apollo Soucek Field in 1957 in honor of Vice Admiral Apollo Soucek, a renowned aviator and former commander of the Naval Air Test Center.
Through the Cold War, Oceana hosted a succession of front-line Navy fighter and attack squadrons. The F-4 Phantom II era of the 1960s and 1970s gave way to the iconic F-14 Tomcat in the 1980s and 1990s, when Oceana became the East Coast home of every Atlantic Fleet Tomcat squadron. The base's identity became intertwined with the Tomcat community, hosting the type's last operational unit and the F-14's 2006 retirement ceremony. In parallel, A-6 Intruder and EA-6B Prowler squadrons operated from Oceana, providing strike and electronic attack capability through the Vietnam, Cold War, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras.
Beginning in the late 1990s, Oceana progressively transitioned from the F-14 to the F/A-18 Super Hornet, completing the changeover by 2007. With the retirement of the EA-6B Prowler, the Navy consolidated all of its airborne electronic attack squadrons at NAS Whidbey Island in Washington State, leaving Oceana focused exclusively on the Super Hornet strike-fighter mission. Today, Oceana remains the singular East Coast master jet base for Navy tactical aviation, supporting carrier air wing workups, fleet replacement training, and routine sustainment operations for the Atlantic Fleet's strike-fighter force.
MAJOR COMMANDS & TENANT UNITS
- Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic
- F/A-18E/F Super Hornet squadrons (Atlantic Fleet)
- Naval Aviation Schools Command detachment
- Fleet Replacement Squadron VFA-106 (East Coast F/A-18E/F)
- Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Oceana
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY
NOTABLE EVENTS
- 1943CommissionedEstablished as a naval auxiliary air field on land near the Princess Anne County coast.
- 1957Apollo Soucek FieldAirfield named in honor of Vice Admiral Apollo Soucek, holder of two world altitude records.
- 1999F-14 to F/A-18 TransitionBegan transition from F-14 Tomcat to F/A-18 Super Hornet as the Navy retired the F-14.