The Black Knights trace their roots to 1946, when the squadron was activated as Naval Reserve squadron VFB-718 at NAS Floyd Bennett, New York. After several redesignations, the squadron became VF-154 in 1953. Its famous Black Knight identity emerged during the F-8 Crusader era, with an insignia designed by cartoonist Milton Caniff.
Over the decades, the Black Knights have flown some of Naval Aviation’s most iconic aircraft, including the F9F Panther, F-8 Crusader, F-4 Phantom II, and F-14 Tomcat. VF-154 became the Navy’s first forward-deployed F-14 squadron when it moved to Japan in 1991, later flying combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2003, the squadron was redesignated VFA-154 and transitioned from the F-14 to the F/A-18F Super Hornet. Today, VFA-154 continues the Black Knights legacy as an F/A-18F strike fighter squadron, carrying forward a tradition that spans generations of Naval Aviators and some of the Navy’s most legendary aircraft.
