The real U.S. Navy TOPGUN fighter pilot training program can be found right here in Fallon, Nevada. Founded in 1969 to curb personnel losses during the Vietnam War, the elite flying school was moved from Miramar, California, to the Forty Mile Desert in 1996. The F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet featured in the blockbuster action movie Top Gun: Maverick is in the background. Click the above image to enlarge, click to view my high-resolution photo gallery, or click to read my feature article “Nevada: TOPGUN and My Grandma’s Legacy.”