Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

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 14 miles (23 km) north of Downtown San Diego.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Mitscher Field
San Diego, California in the United States
An aerial view of MCAS Miramar during 2008
MCAS Miramar
Location in the United States
Coordinates32°52′04″N 117°08′30″W
TypeMarine Corps Air Station
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Marine Corps
Controlled by3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
ConditionOperational
Websitewww.miramar.marines.mil
Site history
Built1917 (1917) (as Camp Kearny)
In use1917 – 1920
1929 – present
Garrison information
Current
commander
Colonel Thomas M. Bedell
Garrison
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX, WMO: 722930
Elevation145.3 metres (477 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
6L/24R 3,657.6 metres (12,000 ft) concrete
6R/24L 2,438.7 metres (8,001 ft) porous European mix
Helicopter strip (LHD) 304.8 metres (1,000 ft) 
Helipads
Number Length and surface
1 30 metres (98 ft) 
2 30 metres (98 ft) 
3 30 metres (98 ft) 
4 38 metres (125 ft) 
5 38 metres (125 ft) 
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

The airfield has been named Mitscher Field since 1955, 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, 60 miles east of Reno, 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".

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