Based out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The 357th Fighter Squadron ‘Dragons’ acts as the Operational Training Unit for the A-6E Intruder fighter-bomber.
Transitioning to the A-6 in early 1970 fr om the A-7, the Dragons would help master the A-6’s All-weather and precision strike-capabilities in the desert. Thanks to the advanced avionics suite of the day, the Dragons were able to train pilots in low-level strikes, below wh ere traditional SA-7 SAM’s could target them, as well as later on incorporating the use of the AGM-88 ‘HARM’ to kill these airborne threats.
Today, the 357th still operates out of Davis-Monthan, training the next generation of close-air-support pilot in the same aircraft that saved thousands in the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of the Middle East
