27 years after disestablishment, a new VF-2 now known as the "Bounty Hunters," was established on October 14, 1972 flying the F-14A Tomcat.

VF-2 completed aircrew training and received its 1st Tomcats in July 1973, attaining full strength of 12 F-14As in the spring of 1974. The Bounty Hunters was the 1st Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS) unit for both CVW-14 and later CVW-2.

VF-2's 1st deployment was in 1974 with her sister squadron VF-1 aboard Enterprise. The squadron flew over Saigon in support of Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of US personnel in April, 1975.

VF-2 was assigned to Ranger(CVA-61) for the September 1980 deployment, 4 months of which were spent in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf during the Iran hostage crisis.

They deployed aboard Kitty Hawk in 1984 and returned for multiple Ranger deployments throughout the '80's.

On June 2, 1984, VF-2 became the 1st squadron to launch an F-14 from an aircraft carrier while towing an air-to-air gunnery target. In 1987, the squadron logged Ranger’s 260,000th landing.

The unit participated in Operation Desert Storm, flying over 500 combat mission from Ranger operating in the Persian Gulf. VF-2 performed escort, reconnaissance and Combat Air Patrol (CAP) missions. After the 1992-1993 cruise, Ranger was decommissioned (along with VF-2’s sister squadron VF-1), and VF-2 was switched to the Constellation. At the same time, VF-2 transitioned to the F-14D Tomcat. Several months after the 1995 cruise, VF-2 was awarded the battle "E" and relocated from NAS Miramar to NAS Oceana due to a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision to make Miramar a Marine Corps Air Station. In April 1996, VF-2 Tomcats were modified to carry the LANTIRN infrared targeting pod, giving them precision strike capabilities.

During their 1999 cruise, VF-2 supported Operation Southern Watch and on September 9, attacked Surface-to-Air Missile sites and anti-aircraft guns around Basra. The same day, a VF-2 Tomcat engaged 2 Iraqi MiG-23’s that were heading south into the No-Fly Zone from Al Taqaddum airbase, west of Baghdad with AIM-54 Phoenixes. The missile did not score as the MiGs turned north once they detected the Phoenix launch.

In the summer of 2001, VF-2 deployed aboard Constellation in support of Operation Southern Watch.

During the 2002-2003 deployment, the final cruise with the Tomcat, VF-2 participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom flying a wide range of missions including, reconnaissance, Close Air Support, Combat Air Patrol and strike missions. On February 28, 2003, during Operation Southern Watch, a VF-2 aircraft delivered the 1st Tomcat JDAM in combat. During this deployment, VF-2 flew 483 sorties and dropped 294 Laser-guided bomb's/JDAM/MK-82 bombs.

On July 1, 2003, VF-2 was redesignated VFA-2, and began transition to the F/A-18F Super Hornet. On October 6, 2003, VFA-2 took delivery of its first Super Hornet.