Carrier Air Wing A Carrier Air Wing ( abbreviated CVW ) is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadron s and detachments of various types of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft . Organized , equipped and trained to conduct modern US Navy carrier air operations while embarked aboard aircraft carriers , the various squadrons in an air wing have different , complementary ( and sometimes overlapping ) missions , and provide most of the striking power and electronic warfare capabilities of a carrier battle group ( CVBG ) . While the CVBG term is still used by other nations , the CVBG in US parlance in now known as a carrier strike group ( CSG ) . Until 1963 , Carrier Air Wings were known as Carrier Air Groups ( CAGs ) . Carrier Air Wings are what the United States Air Force would call “ composite ” wings , and should not be confused with U . S . Navy " Type " Wings ( such as Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic ) , which are primarily administrative and training commands composed of squadrons of the same type of carrier - based aircraft when not deployed . Carrier Air Wings integrate closely with their assigned aircraft carriers , forming a " carrier / air wing team " that trains and deploys together . There are currently ten U . S . Navy Carrier Air Wings , four based at NAS Oceana , Virginia , five based at NAS Lemoore , California , and one forward deployed to NAF Atsugi , Japan . These air wings are occasionally reassigned to different aircraft carriers based on carrier maintenance schedules . A modern air wing consists of roughly 2 , 500 personnel and 60 – 65 aircraft . Origins . The first " Carrier Air Groups " ( as they were then called ) were activated in 1937 . Initially , the commander of the air group ( known as the " CAG " ) was the most senior commanding officer of the embarked squadrons and was expected to personally lead all major strike operations , co - ordinating the attacks of the carrier ' s fighter , bomber , and torpedo planes in combat . The CAG was a department head of the ship reporting to the carrier ' s commanding officer . From July 1937 to mid - 1942 Carrier Air Groups were permanently assigned to and identified by their parent aircraft carrier , and group squadrons were numbered according to the carrier ' s hull number . For example , the " Enterprise Air Group " , assigned to " USS Enterprise ( CV - 6 ) " , were all numbered " 6 " : Fighting Squadron ( VF ) 6 , Bombing Squadron ( VB ) 6 , etc . From 1942 , numerical designation of air groups began , the first being Carrier Air Group 9 ( CVG - 9 ) , established on 1 March 1942 . For a while , they were given unique numbers according to their assigned carriers ' hull number ( i . e . , the Enterprise Air Group became CAG - 6 ) . This numbering scheme was also soon scrapped as carrier groups ( now abbreviated CVGs ) frequently moved from carrier to carrier . At this point , the carrier groups simply retained their number designation regardless of the carrier assigned . The first formal system for air group identification ( " Visual Identification System for Naval Aircraft " ) was established in January 1945 . This consisted of geometric symbols that identified the parent carrier , not the air group . As there were just too many carriers and the symbols were hard to remember or to describe over the radio , a single or double letter system was introduced in July 1945 . The letters , however , still identified the carrier , not the air group . The following identifications are known : " Shangri - La " is known to have had her hull number " 38 " on the flight deck forward replaced by her air group identification letter " Z " . Due to the ongoing combat and the end of the war , a mix of identification codes was used in late 1945 . Starting in late 1946 , the letters identified the carrier air group , and not the carrier . The use of single letters was discontinued in 1957 . On 15 November 1946 , to correct the results of demobilization which had left squadron numbers all out of sequence , sweeping changes were made in air unit designations . Carrier Air Groups of four types were designated according to their assigned ship , as CVBG for Battle Carrier , CVG for Attack Carrier , CVLG for Light Carrier and CVEG for Escort Carrier . Two years later , on 1 September 1948 , all carrier air groups became CVG regardless of their carrier affiliation . On 20 December 1963 , Carrier Air Groups were retitled Wings , and the acronym CVG became CVW . Replacement Air Groups , which were set up in 1958 , became Combat Readiness Air Groups on 1 April 1963 . Often known by the short titles RAG and CRAG in the respective periods , their designation throughout was RCVG . When Groups became Wings , CRAG became CRAW and RCVG became RCVW . From 1960 to 1974 the U . S . Navy also operated " Carrier Anti - Submarine Air Groups ( CVSG ) " . These typically consisted of two fixed - wing anti - submarine squadrons ( VS ) , a helicopter squadron anti - submarine ( HS ) , and two smaller squadrons or squadron detachments of 3 - 4 aircraft for airborne early warning ( VAW ) and self - defense ( VA , VMA , VSF , VF ) . Prior to 1983 , CAGs were typically post - squadron command aviators in the rank of Commander who would typically promote to Captain while in command and would subsequently track to command of a deep draft support vessel followed by command of an aircraft carrier once they achieved greater seniority in the rank of Captain . In 1983 , Secretary of the Navy John Lehman elevated the CAG to be coequal with the Captain of the aircraft carrier to which the air wing embarked , with both officers reporting directly to the embarked Flag Officer who was Commander of the Carrier Battle Group . The CAG was then referred to as a " Super CAG . " Later a slightly junior Captain was added as the Deputy CAG ( DCAG ) , with the DCAG assisting the CAG until he ' she eventually " fleets up " to the CAG position . This system is still in place , although the term " Super CAG " soon reverted to the traditional " CAG . " World War II . Typical air group composition aboard the Yorktown Class carriers , at the beginning of World War II , consisted of approximately 72 aircraft : During the course of the war in the Pacific the compositions of the air groups changed drastically . The scouting squadrons were disestablished by early 1943 and the number of fighter planes was increased continuously . Typically in 1943 an Essex class carrier carried 36 fighter planes , 36 bombers and 18 torpedo planes . By the end of WWII , a typical Essex air group was over 100 aircraft , consisting of : Korea and Cold War . Carrier Air Groups typically had four fighter squadrons with 58 planes and an attack squadron of 14 planes . New to the air wings in the Cold War period after Korea and just prior to Vietnam were specialized squadrons of aircraft for heavy attack / nuclear strike ( VAH ) , photographic reconnaissance ( VAP / VFP , RVAH ) , airborne early warning ( VAW ) , all - weather medium attack ( VA ) , advanced twin - seat fighters ( VF ) , electronic countermeasures ( VAQ ) , and helicopters ( HC , HS ) . Vietnam . During the Vietnam War Attack Carrier Air Wings typically consisted of approximately 70 aircraft , including two fighter squadrons and three attack squadrons , plus the special squadrons and detachments ( VAW , VAQ , RVAH or VFP , VQ , HC or HS . In 1965 , a typical Carrier Air Wing consisted of : By the end of the Vietnam War in 1973 , a typical air wing consisted of ~ 90 aircraft : An anti - submarine air group ( CVSG ) aboard the " Essex " - class anti - submarine carriers ( CVS ) operated five squadrons : From 1969 to 1977 , a number of carrier air wings were disestablished in the post - Vietnam drawdown : Carrier Air Wing 10 on 20 November 1969 , Readiness Carrier Air Wing 12 on 1 June 1970 , Readiness Carrier Air Wing 4 on 1 July 1970 , Carrier Air Wing 16 on 30 June 1971 , Carrier Air Wing 21 on 12 December 1975 , and Carrier Air Wing 19 on 30 June 1977 . 1983 Invasion of Grenada . By the early 1980s , typical air wings were replacing F - 4s with F - 14 Tomcat on Forrestal , Kitty Hawk , Enterprise and Nimitz class clarriers and / or F / A - 18 Hornets onboard Midway class carriers . A - 7s were also being replaced with F / A - 18s , while KA - 6D tankers and A - 6E bombers with aerial refueling pods had replaced A - 3 as tankers , and EA - 6B Prowler s had largely replaced EA - 3s in the VAQ mission , although detachments of EA - 3s from fleet air reconnaissance squadrons ( VQ ) soldiered on through the late 1980s as ELINT aircraft until replaced by the ES - 3A Shadow in the carrier - based VQ mission . On 1 March 1 , 1984 , Carrier Air Wing 13 was established . Between 1 October 1985 and 30 September 1989 the wing made three deployments aboard " Coral Sea . " Carrier Air Wing 10 was re - established on 1 November 1986 for eighteen months , but then disestablished again in March 1988 . 1991 Gulf War . The Gulf War marked the largest concentrated use of carrier air wings since World War II . All F - 4s had been retired and A - 7Es had largely been replaced with F / A - 18 Hornet s . From 1991 to 1995 , three more carrier air wings were disestablished : the Atlantic Fleet ' s Carrier Air Wing 13 on 1 January 1991 , followed Carrier Air Wing 6 on 1 April 1992 , and the Pacific Fleet ' s Carrier Air Wing 15 on 31 March 1995 . In addition , the U . S . Naval Reserve ' s Carrier Air Wing Reserve 30 ( CVWR - 30 ) was disestablished on 31 December 1994 . 2003 Iraq War . By 2003 , A - 6s had been retired with their tanking duties being assumed by S - 3s , ES - 3s had been retired , and older F - 14s were being phased out with the FA - 18 E / F Super Hornets which was also replacing 1 squadron of F / A - 18C Hornets . The deactivation of Carrier Air Wing 14 was planned for 2011 - 12 . However , a March 20 , 2012 memo from the Chief of Naval Operations , ADM Jon Greenert , cancelled that decision . Yet a Navy Times article of March 28 , 2012 , noted that " Greenert ’ s decision , however , expires in a year unless a new plan takes its place . . . . The Navy had planned to deactivate a carrier air wing and its squadrons in its fiscal 2012 budget to help meet required cuts in defense spending in last year ’ s Budget Control Act , cutting the number of carrier air wings from 10 to nine . But Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter later directed the Navy to make funds and manpower available for 10 wings . " . . " Navy spokeswoman , LT Katie Cerezo , said the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act directs the Navy to maintain 10 air wings , and the Navy reversed plans to deactivate CVW - 14 in order to comply with the law . " Organization . A carrier air wing has a small command staff consisting of 16 - 20 officers and approximately 20 enlisted personnel . It is headed by the " CAG " ( Commander , Air Group — a legacy term from the earlier term for the Air Wing ) who is a Navy Captain or a Marine Corps Colonel with an aeronautical designation as a Naval Aviator or Naval Flight Officer . Although eligible , Marine assignments to " CAG " or " DCAG " ( Deputy Commander ) positions are typically limited to one Carrier Air Wing . Second in command is the Deputy Commander ( DCAG ) , also a Navy Captain or Marine Colonel aviator or NFO , who " fleets up " to the CAG position after about 18 months . Also on the staff are an Operations Officer ( typically a Commander or Lieutenant Commander ) , a number of warfare specialists ( typically Lieutenant Commanders or Lieutenants ) , two Wing Landing Signal Officer s , an Intelligence Officer , and a Maintenance Officer . The air wing staff is often supplemented with squadron personnel , such as the squadron intelligence officers . The CAG reports to a Rear Admiral in the position of Commander , Carrier Strike Group and is coequal in stature with the Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier as well as the embarked Destroyer Squadron ( DESRON ) Commander and the attached guided missile cruiser commanding officer . The CAG serves as the Strike Group ' s Strike Warfare Commander , responsible for all offensive strike operations ( including Tomahawk Missile s ) . CAGs are typically qualified to fly at least two types of aircraft in the Carrier Air Wing inventory . The air wing composition is designed to allow for broad striking power hundreds of miles from the carrier ' s position , while providing defense in depth of the battle group through early warning and detection of airborne , surface and subsurface targets . The modern U . S . Navy carrier air wing consists of : Active Carrier Air Wings / identification . Atlantic Fleet air wings have an " A " as the first letter of their tailcode identification , while those of the Pacific Fleet have an " N " . The " A " or " N " is followed by a letter that uniquely identifies the air wing ( e . g . , CVW - 1 aircraft , part of the Atlantic Fleet , have a tail code of " AB " ) . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > CVW - 17 transferred from Atlantic Fleet ( with tail code AA ) to Pacific Fleet ( with tail code NA ) in 2012 and was reassigned to . < ref name = DNS - 33 / 12U102092 > < / ref > USS " Enterprise " decommissioned in December 2012 ; CVW - 1 to be reassigned to USS " Theodore Roosevelt " in 2013 . < br > With the inactivation fo CVWR - 30 in 1994 , the single remaming U . S . Navy Reserve Carrier Air Wing was Carrier Air Wing Reserve Twenty ( CVWR - 20 ) . On 1 April 2007 , CVWR - 20 was redesiganted as Tactical Support Wing ( TSW ) :