The appearance of the VX-9 "Vampires" squadron's Vandy 1 F/A-18F Super Hornet at Pueblo Memorial Airport (KPUB) in Colorado performing touch-and-go operations offers a brief but illustrative window into routine military flight training activity at civilian and joint-use airports across the United States. VX-9, formally the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine, is based at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California and serves as the Navy's primary operational test and evaluation squadron for strike fighter weapons and tactics. The Vandy 1 aircraft is a specially marked flagship jet associated with the squadron's identity and frequently appears at airshows and public events, though its appearance at a regional airport in Colorado during what appears to be routine pattern work is consistent with cross-country training and currency operations conducted by naval aviators away from their home installation.
For professional pilots operating at non-towered or lightly controlled regional airports, the presence of high-performance military jets in the traffic pattern carries direct operational implications. Military aircraft conducting touch-and-go training can dramatically alter the tempo of a pattern — F/A-18F approach speeds routinely exceed 150 knots, and go-around performance is vastly different from civilian turboprops or light jets sharing the same airspace. Pilots unfamiliar with military pattern procedures should be aware that military crews often use non-standard phraseology, may operate under a different ATC facility than the civilian CTAF, and can occupy significant portions of a traffic pattern at speeds incompatible with slower general aviation traffic without coordinated sequencing.
The broader operational picture is that military use of civilian airports for training, fuel stops, and currency work is a longstanding and increasing practice, particularly as military installations consolidate and as naval and Air Force units seek to expose their pilots to varied airport environments. Pueblo Memorial Airport has historically served as a military-accessible field in the region, and its relatively long runways and low traffic density make it attractive for high-performance jet operations. Part 135 and corporate operators using airports that double as military training venues should remain attentive to NOTAM activity and should not assume that an absence of published military activity means such operations will not occur — much military pattern work is conducted under VFR with minimal advance notice to civilian users beyond standard ATC coordination.
From a broader trend standpoint, the visibility of naval test and evaluation aircraft at inland civilian airports reflects the Navy's sustained effort to maintain fleet readiness and aircrew proficiency during a period of high operational tempo. The F/A-18F Super Hornet remains the backbone of carrier-based strike aviation and continues to serve alongside the F-35C in the transition to fifth-generation platforms. Professional pilots who operate near military operating areas, restricted airspace corridors, or airports with joint-use agreements should treat unexpected military traffic not as a novelty but as a normal variable in airspace management — one that requires situational awareness, conservative spacing, and proactive communication with controlling facilities.