Official VAW-120 Greyhawks Wallops Patch — Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120 Embroidered Patch The Fleet Replacement Squadron that builds every Hawkeye and Greyhound crew in the Navy—VAW-120, the Greyhawks, training carrier airborne early warning warriors at NAS Norfolk and NASA Wallops Flight Facility. Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120 (VAW-120), the "Greyhawks," is the United States Navy's Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for the E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and the C-2A Greyhound carrier onboard delivery aircraft. Based at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, VAW-120 trains every E-2C Hawkeye and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye pilot, Naval Flight Officer, and enlisted aircrew member who will serve in the fleet's carrier airborne early warning squadrons. The Greyhawks also trained all C-2A Greyhound crews before that aircraft's retirement and replacement by the CMV-22B Osprey. This Wallops patch commemorates VAW-120's operations at NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore, where the squadron conducts specialized training evolutions that take advantage of the facility's restricted airspace, radar tracking capabilities, and proximity to overwater training areas. Wallops Island has served as a critical training location for Navy E-2 crews, providing the controlled environment needed to develop the complex skills of airborne command and control, radar surveillance, and battle management that E-2 Hawkeye crews must master before joining fleet squadrons. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye represents the most capable airborne early warning platform in the world, featuring the AN/APY-9 radar system with a mechanically rotated UHF-band antenna housed in the aircraft's distinctive 24-foot rotodome. The Advanced Hawkeye provides carrier strike groups with 360-degree surveillance, theater air and missile defense coordination, and battle management capabilities that extend the carrier's sensor reach hundreds of miles beyond the horizon. VAW-120 ensures every crew that takes this extraordinary capability to the fleet is fully trained and combat-ready. Perfect For: VAW-120 Greyhawks members and instructors, E-2 Hawkeye and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye community members, C-2A Greyhound alumni, NAS Norfolk-based aviators, Wallops Flight Facility personnel, and carrier airborne early warning aviation enthusiasts. The Greyhawks of VAW-120—building the eyes of the fleet, one Hawkeye crew at a time, from the training grounds of Norfolk and Wallops to the flight decks of America's carriers.
