The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets (F/A for Fighter/Attack). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the US Navy and USMC. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, since 1986.

The F/A-18 has a top speed of Mach 1.8. It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground, supplemented by the 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon. It is powered by two General Electric F404 turbofan engines, which give the aircraft a high thrust-to- weight ratio. The F/A-18 has excellent aerodynamic characteristics, primarily attributed to its leading edge extensions (LEX). The fighter's primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), air interdiction, close air support and aerial reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload compared to its earlier contemporaries, such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in the fighter and strike fighter role, and the Grumman A-6 Intruder and LTV A-7 Corsair II in the attack role.

The F/A-18 Hornet provided the baseline design for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, a larger, evolutionary redesign of the F/A-18. Compared to the Hornet, the Super Hornet is larger, heavier and has improved range and payload. The F/A-18E/F was originally proposed as an alternative to an all-new aircraft to replace existing dedicated attack aircraft such as the A-6. The larger variant was also directed to replace the aging F-14 Tomcat, thus serving a complementary role with Hornets in the U.S. Navy, and serving a wider range of roles including refueling tanker, and electronic jamming platform.

Strike Fighter Squadron 192 (VFA-192), also known as the "World Famous Golden Dragons", are a US Navy F/A-18C Hornet fighter squadron stationed at NAS Lemoore. They are attached to Carrier Air Wing 9, their tailcode is NG, and their radio callsign is Dragon.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the squadron began preparations for an emergency deployment and began training at Iwo jima while Kitty Hawk sortied from Yokosuka. Within a week the Dragons were again carrier qualified and ready to sail. Instead, CVW-5 was divided to fill urgent requirements elsewhere in support of Opertion Enduring Freedom. CVW-5 Detachment A, comprised FA-18Cs from VFA-192 and VFA-195, S-3 ’s from VS-21 and HH-60`s from HS-14, sailed aboard Kitty Hawk to the Indian Oceanwith a large Special Operations contingent embarked. The Spec Ops force moved from Kitty Hawk into Afghanistan while the aircraft provided close air support (CAS) until November 2001. Detachment B, comprised FA-18Cs from VFA-27 and manned with pilots from all three CVW-5 Hornet squadrons, deployed to the U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia to provide air defense of the Maritime Pre-positioned Fleet and USAF bomber force deployed there.

In January 2003, VFA-192 deployed aboard Kitty Hawk to the Persian Gulf in support of opertion Araqi Freedom. The squadron flew 339 combat missions and dropped 224,000 pounds of ordnance including 283 JDAM and LGB bombs. After 100 consecutive days at sea, the Dragons returned to Japan in May.

On December 15, 2009, VFA-192 departed NAF Atsugi and CVW-5 as part of a homeport change to NAS Lemoore and CVW-9. Likewise, VFa-115 arrived in NAF Atsugi on December 13, 2009 to be the replacement squadron for the Dragons. Upon arrival at NAS Lemoore, VFA-192 Joined CVW-9.

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