Just Landed

Hobby Master HA5237 1/72nd Grumman F-14D Tomcat NE100/163894, VF-2 "Bounty Hunters", USS Constellation, 2003
The fourth time the designation VF-2 “Bounty Hunters” was resurrected was on October 14, 1972. After training, VF-2 received its first F-14A in early 1973 and it wasn’t until early 1974 before they reached full strength of 12 F-14As. VF-2’s initial deployment came in 1974 in Vietnam as part of the air support for the evacuation of Saigon. The first production F-14D completed its maiden flight in early 1990 but it wasn’t until the early 1993 before VF-2 received their first F-14Ds. In 2003 VF-2 re-equipped with the F/A-18F and became VFA-2.

Hobby Master HA5122 1/72nd F/A-18F Super Hornet NE100/165916, VFA-2 "Bounty Hunters", USS Abraham Lincoln, 2012
On July 1, 2003 VF-2 became VFA-2 “Bounty Hunters” and converted from the F-14D to the F/A-18F Super Hornet. VFA-2 is based at NAS Lemoore, California and use NE as their tail code and “Bullet” as their callsign. From 2001 until 2020 the improved Block II F/A-18F’s were produced and equipped with AESA radar. F/A-18F NE100/165916 c/n F062 wears a patriotic red, white and blue stripe around the front portion of the fuselage called the “Langley Stripe” in reference to the markings of aircraft flown from the first USN carrier USS Langley.