1951 to 1954. It also served as a Project Mercury Tracking station in the early 1960s. 2020 shooting On May 21, 2020, a motorist crashed through a northern perimeter gate at NAS Corpus Christi, activating vehicle barriers that stopped the vehicle. The driver then got out and opened fire before being shot and killed. A Navy police officer was shot but was protected by a ballistic vest. Officials with the FBI announced the incident was terrorism-related and a second person of interest may be at large. The shooter was later identified as Adam Alsalhi, a 20-year-old Corpus Christi resident born in Syria, who had expressed support for ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The incident was the second fatal shooting and the fourth security incident that caused NAS Corpus Christi to be locked down since February 2019. Current operations Today, the Naval Aviator training program at NAS Corpus Christi is much longer, approximately 18 months, due to the increased complexity of today's aircraft. Currently, Training Air Wing FOUR produces approximately 400 newly qualified aviators each year via the "Maritime Pipeline" for shore-based U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard fixed-wing jet and turboprop aircraft, as well as a limited number of NATO/Allied/Coalition military pilots for similar aircraft. Training Air Wing FOUR consists of four squadrons. VT-27 and VT-28 handle primary training in the T-6B Texan II, a single engine turboprop aircraft. VT-31 and VT-35 provide advanced training in the twin engine T-44C Pegasus aircraft. Other aircraft found at NAS Corpus Christi include the P-3 Orions and General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In addition to U.S. Navy Student Naval Aviators, VT-31 and VT-35 also train Student Naval Aviators from the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard. The station employs officer, enlisted and civilian personnel serving in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the military services of numerous NATO/Allied/Coalition partner nations. In support of the base's training mission are three nearby outlying landing fields owned by the Navy: Naval Outlying Field Waldron, which is southwest of the Naval Air Station, Naval Outlying Field Cabaniss, which is west of the Naval Air Station and Naval Outlying Field Goliad which is north of the Naval Air Station. NAS Corpus Christi is also home to the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD), the largest