combat aircraft

RAPTORS IN GERMANY

‘BONEHEADS’ BACK IN EUROPE

F

22AS OPERATED BY

the 325th Fighter Wing’s

95th Fighter Squadron

‘Boneheads’ arrived at

Spangdahlem Air Base,

Germany from Tyndall AFB,

Florida, on August 8. The 13 Raptors

were scheduled to remain in theater

for several weeks as part of a  ghter

training deployment.

The commander of US Air Forces

in Europe, Gen Tod D. Wolters, told

reporters that the deployment was

part of the European Deterrence

Initiative (EDI), enabling integrated

training with locally based units

and allies. 95th FS commander Lt

Col Joshua Biederman said the

deployment was supported by the

wing’s Air Force Reserve Command

associate unit, the 301st FS, which

has been integrated since 2014.

Accompanied by a KC-135R from

the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF

Mildenhall, a pair of F-22As landed

Larissa Air Base, Greece, on August

10 for local training with the Hellenic

Air Force. Five F-22As also traveled

to Powidz Air Base, near Poznan,

Poland on August 14 for theater

familiarization and interoperability

training. Four of the  ghters took

part in a  yby celebrating Poland’s

national Army Day over Warsaw the

following day. Another  ight of two

Raptors conducted joint training

DEPLOYMENT NEWS

‘Reapers’ deploy to Iceland

F-15Cs operated by the 48th

Expeditionary Fighter Wing’s 493rd

Fighter Squadron ‘Grim Reapers’

deployed to Ke avík Air Base. Iceland,

and assumed responsibility for the

NATO Icelandic Air Surveillance

mission on July 30. The deployment,

which ran through August 23,

marked the 11th time that the unit

has taken on the task since 2008. For

this rotation, around 280 personnel

and 13 Eagles deployed from RAF

Lakenheath. While four of the  ghters

were typically assigned to the alert

mission, the remainder supported

ongoing training. The deployment

was also aided by the 31st Fighter

Wing’s 606th Air Control Squadron,

which deployed a command and

control team from Aviano Air Base,

Italy. The latter unit supported the air-

policing mission and provided tactical

control for the  ghters.

Barksdale bomber swap

B-52Hs operated by the 2nd Bomb

Wing’s 96th Bomb Squadron have

deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam,

where they assumed responsibility

for the Continuous Bomber Presence

mission. Their arrival allowed

Stratofortresses from the 20th

Expeditionary Bomb Squadron to

return to Barksdale. The unit had been

deployed to Andersen in support

of the US Indo-Paci c Command

mission since January 2018.

Shortly after arriving in the region

a pair of B-52Hs from the 96th

conducted joint operations with six

F-15Js operated by the Japan Air Self-

Defense Force. The bilateral training

mission took place near Japan on July

26, 2018. The bombers subsequently

conducted training with the US Navy

near Okinawa, Japan, before returning

to Guam. On August 1, a pair of

B-52Hs conducted joint operations

with two P-8As assigned to US Navy

patrol squadrons VP-45 and VP-4. The

mission was conducted over the East

China Sea near Japan.

Moody A-10s deploy to Kandahar

A-10Cs operated by the 75th Fighter

Squadron deployed from Moody

AFB, Georgia, to Kandahar Air eld,

Afghanistan, in mid-July. The ‘Tiger

Sharks’ replaced A-10Cs that had been

deployed by the Indiana Air National

Guard’s 163rd Expeditionary Fighter

Squadron. While deployed, the 75th

Expeditionary Fighter Squadron

will provide close air support and

support combat search and rescue

(CSAR) missions. Prior to its arrival in

Afghanistan, the squadron deployed

to an undisclosed location in support

of the US Central Command mission

Operation ‘Spartan Shield’.

‘Lobos’ at Bagram

F-16Cs and airmen from the South

Dakota Air National Guard’s 175th

Fighter Squadron arrived at Bagram

Air eld, Afghanistan, on July 27.

The unit replaced F-16Cs assigned

to the Oklahoma Air National

Guard’s 125th Expeditionary Fighter

Squadron. While deployed the

‘Lobos’ will continue to assist the

Afghan government and security

forces in their  ght against Taliban,

F-15C serial 86-0164 assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing’s 493rd

Expeditionary Fighter Squadron departs from RAF Lakenheath,

UK, at the start of a deployment in support of NATO’s Icelandic Air

Surveillance mission on July 30. USAF/SrA Malcolm Mayfi eld

A pair of B-52Hs, operated by the 2nd Bomb Wing’s 96th Expeditionary

Bomb Squadron, conducts a routine bilateral training mission with F-15Js

from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force near Japan, on July 26. USAF

The Raptor deployment marks the third major European deployment for the

‘Boneheads’, which also deployed in 2015 and 2016. Peter Ten Berg

[NEWS] UNITED STATES

12 October 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net