In October 1980, the squadron transferred to CVW-11 (NH) aboard . Following a 1981 Indian Ocean deployment which saw the squadron and USS "America" make their only visit to Perth/Fremantle, Western Australia from 25–31 August 1981, VAW-123 transferred to CVW-1 (AB) on 12 November 1981. Since that time, the squadron made several extended Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and North Atlantic deployments as part of CVW-1/CV-66, until the decommissioning of USS "America" in 1996. The squadron participated in the 1986 Gulf of Sidra operations off the coast of Libya and was directly involved in the first combat use of the AGM-88 HARM and Harpoon weapon systems.