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| Beautiful pic of the F-105s flying with F-16s for the 466th Fighter Squadron's transition. |
After the service of the F-105 had ended at Hill AFB, the immediate replacement was the F-16 Fighting Falcon, or as the pilots and crews call it, the Viper. Despite the fact the F-16 had significantly less range and payload capability than the F-105 it replaced, it did offer significantly enhanced capabilities in almost every other area, such as a more advanced and sophisticated radar, far greater bombing and gunnery accuracy, BVR A2A capability, greater payload diversity, smart weapons arsenal, and is far more maneuverable.
However, they first F-16 arrived at Hill long before the type was operated there, as there was a scheduled stop there after flying out of Edwards AFB for one of the test flights in 1977. Ogden Air Logistics Center (ALC) was also already designated as the primary maintenance center for the type in 1974 during the development of the aircraft.
The 388th Tactical Fighter Wing received its first F-16As for operational use in late 1979 and it was the first squadron in the US Air Force to become operational with the new jet, replacing the unit's old and venerable F-4E Phantom IIs that were used in Vietnam.
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| The 388th's celebratory paint scheme for the 5 millionth F-16 flight hour. |
The unit gained quick prominence with the type by winning the RAF bombing competition in 1981, and also winning the worldwide USAF Gunsmoke gunnery competition twice, once in 1987 and again in 1993. In May of 1989, the very first F-16C Block 40 was issued to the unit and they also had the distinction of celebrating the F-16's 5 millionth flight hour among all the variants in December of 1996.
The 388th Fighter Wing flew four thousand sorties during both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, with no losses. After the war the wing continued to deploy elements of its combat squadrons to support postwar treaty enforcement in Operation Southern Watch.
During the Global War on Terror, the wing began deploying F-16s to Bagram AB, Afghanistan in 2009 to support ground forces in Operation Enduring Freedom. They continued to support operations in that country as part of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel until 2016.
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| An F-16 from the 466th flying over the Great Salt Lake |
Along with the 388th, in 1983, the Reserve 466th Fighter Squadron called the “Diamondbacks”, it was the first Air Force Reserve unit to operate the F-16 and has had a VERY storied history operating the Viper since.
Within the first two years of operating the type, the squadron immediately earned top honors at the Air Force’s Gunsmoke gunnery meet. In 1994, the unit deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, in support of Operation Northern Watch in Iraq.
As for the history of combat deployments, they went on to support Operation Southern Watch at Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait and while there, the unit became the first F-16s to deploy precision guided munitions in combat in 1998. Later on in 1999, while again deployed in support of Operation Northern Watch, the Diamondbacks also earned the distinction of being the first F-16 unit to employ the Litening II targeting pod in combat.
While deployed to Iraq to enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch, they were also tasked with flying classified combat missions into Afghanistan immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Afterward, they were the first F-16 unit deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom and are credited with destroying multiple important Al Qaeda assets, and provided close-air support missions to ground troops.
In the following years, as the Global War on Terror continued, the 466th became the first unit to fly F-16 in combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Again, in 2005, the Diamondbacks deployed to Iraq to fly close-air support missions out of Balad airbase for allied ground forces.
In 2007, the 466th Fighter Squadron began flying and maintaining a shared fleet of F-16s alongside the 388th Fighter Wing in what was called "Total Force Integration". Finally in September 2015, the 419th began it's transition to the new F-35A which eventually completely replaced the F-16s in the unit by September of 2017.
Despite the F-16 no longer being based with any unit at Hill AFB, it is still the primary logistical and maintenance hub for the type on the western half of the US, so F-16s can still be seen on occasion going in and out of Hill. Recently, the Air Force has also determined the F-35 is both too expensive and maintenance heavy to fully replace the F-16, and so they type will be upgraded for the foreseeable future until a 1:1 replacement can be designed.
Pics and sources:
https://www.hill.af.mil/About-Us/Organizations/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/388th_Fighter_Wing
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