US Navy VAQ-130 Zappers Squadron Patch
Electronic Attack Squadron 130 (VAQ-130) – "The Zappers"
The Zappers of VAQ-130 are the oldest electronic warfare squadron in the United States Navy, tracing their lineage to 1 September 1959, when Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron Thirteen (VAW-13) was commissioned at Naval Air Station Alameda, California, flying the Douglas AD-5Q Skyraider. The squadron adopted the "Zappers" nickname and its distinctive dragon insignia during this formative era. Redesignated Electronic Attack Squadron 130 on 1 October 1968, the squadron was placed under Tactical Electronic Warfare Wing Thirteen and began deploying detachments with EKA-3B Skywarrior aircraft aboard carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin, providing electronic countermeasures and aerial refueling capabilities during the Vietnam War. Fourteen VAQ-130 detachments served aboard carriers in combat from 1968 through June 1973.
Relocating to NAS Whidbey Island, Washington in March 1975, the Zappers transitioned to the EA-6B Prowler and were assigned to a remarkable variety of carrier air wings, deploying aboard USS Nimitz, Forrestal, Independence, and Kitty Hawk. During Operation Desert Storm, VAQ-130 became the first Prowler squadron to fire a HARM missile in combat, earning the COMNAVAIRLANT Battle "E" award for 1990. The squadron supported operations over Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq throughout the 1990s and 2000s before transitioning to the EA-18G Growler in 2011. In 2024, deploying aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with Carrier Air Wing 3, the Zappers conducted nearly 700 combat missions in Operation Yukon Lightning against Houthi targets in Yemen, becoming the first Growler squadron to score an air-to-air kill and the first to employ the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) in combat. Currently based at NAS Whidbey Island, VAQ-130 continues to lead the Navy's electronic warfare mission as part of CVW-3.
Perfect For: VAQ-130 veterans and active-duty Zappers, EA-18G Growler and EA-6B Prowler community members, CVW-3 personnel, electronic warfare officers, and carrier-based aviation collectors.
This patch represents the Navy's longest-serving electronic warfare squadron—over six decades of suppressing enemy air defenses from the Gulf of Tonkin to the Red Sea.
