MCAS Miramar Mitscher Field |
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The Miramar flight line from above
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||||||
Operator | United States Marine Corps | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Miramar, San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||||
In use |
18 July 1917 – 30 October 1920 1929 – present |
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Commander | Col. Jason G. Woodworth | ||||||||||||||||||
Occupants | 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 477 ft / 145 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 32°52′04″N 117°08′30″W / 32.86778°N 117.14167°WCoordinates: 32°52′04″N 117°08′30″W / 32.86778°N 117.14167°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www.miramar.marines.mil | ||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Sources: Official website and FAA
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Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX), formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, San Diego, California, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Downtown San Diego.
The airfield is named Mitscher Field after Admiral M.A. Mitscher who was the commander of Task Force 58 during World War II. The air station is the former location of Pacific Fleet fighter and Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft (F-4 Phantom II, F-14 Tomcat, E-2 Hawkeye) and is best known as the former location of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS), its TOPGUN training program and the movie of the same name. In 1996, NFWS was relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in western Nevada and merged into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). During the heyday of TOPGUN at NAS Miramar, the station was nicknamed "Fightertown USA".