The squadron returned to NAS Lemoore for Christmas and on 10 January 1986 VA-192 was re-designated Strike Fighter Squadron One Nine Two (VFA-192) and began F/A-18 Hornet transition training under VFA-125. The squadron received their first F/A-18A on 5 May 1986. This new beginning also included notification that the squadron would be changing homeport to join CVW-5 and USS Midway out of Yokosuka, Japan. This change became official on 1 July 1986, and in November VFA-192 executed their second trans-Pacific movement in eighteen months in new F/A-18A Hornets to NAF Atsugi, Japan.

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1987 began with VFA-192's first deployment embarked on USS Midway as a member of the restructured CVW-5. The next twelve months included 261 days of embarked operations in the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Sea. During November and December, the squadron participated in Operation Earnest Will, providing air cover for the escort of reflagged Kuwait oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.

 

On 2 October 1990, the squadron set sail aboard USS Midway for the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield. When Operation Desert Storm began on the night of 17 January 1991, the squadron attacked Iraqi missile batteries. Over the next 43 days, the Golden Dragons flew 576 combat sorties, dropping over 730,000 pounds of ordnance. In March, VFA-192 and the Midway Battle Group departed the Persian Gulf, returning home to Yokosuka following seven months of deployment. On 21 August 1991, VFA-192 and CVW-5 embarked for the last time aboard USS Midway prior to her retirement and replacement as the forward deployed carrier by USS Independence. During the turnover at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the squadron also traded their F/A-18A aircraft for newer F/A-18Cs.

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 *due to DCS limitations, we fly off USS George Washington, instead of USS Independence.”