466th Fighter Squadron
The 466th Fighter Squadron is the 419th Fighter Wing's operational flying squadron. It is located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The squadron was activated late in World War II. Intended as a long-range escort unit, it deployed to the Pacific, but remained in Hawaii until it was inactivated after VJ Day. The squadron was reactivated in 1952 as the 466th Fighter-Escort Squadron, but was inactivated in 1956, when the concept of fighters escorting formations of bombers no longer jibed with United States military thinking. Overview The 419th formerly flew 15 F-16C/D model aircraft, which are light, air-to-air daytime fighters. In September of 2015 the 466th received its first F35A, which is a multi-role, combat capable fighter. The 466th Fighter Squadron first saw action in 1998, participating in Exercise Cope Tiger. This is a drill which puts reserve pilots shoulder to shoulder with members of the Thailand and Singapore Air Forces. Later that year, the 466th was deployed to Kuwait ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commissioned officers and enlisted airmen. Together, the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard constitute the Air Force element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. AFRC also plays an integral role in the day-to-day Air Force mission and is not strictly a force held in reserve for possible war or contingency operations. AFRC also supports the United States Space Force through the 310th Space Wing, pending the creation of a space reserve component. Overview The federal reserve component of the United States Air Force, AFRC has approximately 450 aircraft assigned for which it has sole control, as well as access to several hundred additional active duty USAF aircraft via AFRC "Associate" wings that are colloc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Air Defense
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-launched), and air-based weapon systems, in addition to associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, army, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defense. Missile defense, Missile defense is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. Most modern anti-aircraft (AA) weapons systems are optimized for short-, medium-, or long-range air defence, although some systems may incorporate multiple weapons (such as both autocannons and surface-to-air missiles). 'Layered air defence' usually refers to multiple 't ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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388th Fighter Wing
The 388th Fighter Wing (388FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. The unit is stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Units 388th Operations Group (388 OG) * 4th Fighter Squadron (4 FS) : The squadron is the second unit at Hill to transition to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II after retiring the F-16 in May 2016. It prepares to deploy worldwide to conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground operations for daylight and nighttime missions. * 421st Fighter Squadron (421 FS) : The squadron conducts flying operations to maintain combat readiness of a 24-aircraft F-16CG squadron. It prepares to deploy worldwide to conduct Day/Night air superiority and precision strike sorties employing laser-guided and inertially aided munitions during contingencies and combat. * 34th Fighter Squadron : This squadron is the first operational F-35A Lightning II fighter squadron in the world. It was declared combat-ready on 2 August 2016 after tr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AN/AAQ-28 Litening
The AN/AAQ-28 Litening is an advanced precision targeting pod system operational with a wide variety of aircraft worldwide. Research and development of the ''Litening'' was first undertaken by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Missiles Division in Israel, with subsequent completion of Litening I for use in the Israeli Air Force. Litening significantly increases the combat effectiveness of the aircraft during day, night and under-the-weather conditions in the attack of ground and air targets with a variety of standoff weapons (i.e., laser-guided bombs, conventional bombs and GPS-guided weapons). The thousandth pod was sold in October 2010. In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "''AN/AAQ-28''" designation represents the 28th design of an Army-Navy airborne electronic device for infrared special equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all Department of Defense electronic systems. Features Litening is an integrated targeting po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Precision-guided Munition
A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a type of weapon system that integrates advanced guidance and control systems, such as Global Positioning System, GPS, laser guidance, or Infrared search and track, infrared sensors, with various types of Ammunition, munitions, typically Missile, missiles or Shell (projectile), artillery shells, to allow for high-accuracy strikes against designated Targeting (warfare), targets. PGMs are designed to precisely hit a predetermined target, typically with a margin of error (or circular error probable, CEP) that is far smaller than conventional unguided munitions. Unlike unguided munitions, PGMs use active or passive Control system, control mechanisms capable of steering the weapon towards its intended target. PGMs are capable of mid-flight course corrections, allowing them to adjust and hit the intended target even if conditions change. PGMs can be deployed from various platforms, includi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ahmad Al-Jaber Air Base
Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base is a Kuwait Air Force base that is home to 3 Kuwait Air Force F/A-18 C/D squadrons: 9 Squadron, 25 Squadron, and 61 Squadron. The base also has an area designated for operations by the U.S. Air Force and its allies. History Invasion of Kuwait When Iraq launched the Invasion of Kuwait, 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Iraqi Air Force jets dropped air-scattered mines, preventing operations on the runways. This led to the Kuwait Air Force, Kuwaiti Air Force Dassault Mirage F1, Mirage F1s and Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A-4 Skyhawks having to land on a road nearby. Lead up to the Gulf War After the invasion, the US, which was preparing for Operation Desert Storm, feared that al-Jaber housed Iraqi chemical weapons program, Iraqi chemical weapons mainly because the Iraqi army had deployed 30 howitzers and used the Kuwaiti Hangar, hardened concrete hangars at al-Jaber for munitions storage. These howitzers, known as GC-45 howitzer, GHN-45, were notable for being prefer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Operation Northern Watch
Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort, was a Combined Task Force (CTF) charged with enforcing its own no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in Iraq. Its mission began on 1 January 1997. The coalition partners of the United States, United Kingdom, and Turkey provided approximately 45 aircraft and more than 1,400 personnel to support Operation Northern Watch.http://www.stripes.com/01/jun01/ed060401a.html The joint U.S. forces of some 1,100 U.S. personnel, included airmen, sailors, soldiers, and Marines, as well as aircraft from every arm of the United States Armed Forces. The original mandate from the Turkish government allowed the operation to continue for six months. Turkey subsequently approved two 6-month extensions, but indicated that it would not become a permanent mission. For the first year of the mission, northern Iraq was quiet, with no combat between Coalition aircraft and Iraqi forces. Operation Northern Watch forces did not ta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Incirlik Air Base
Incirlik Air Base () is a Republic of Turkey, Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of the city core, and inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The United States Air Force and the Turkish Air Force are the primary users of the air base, although it is at times also used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force. The base is also the home of the 74th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment (MIM-104 Patriot, Patriot unit) of the Spanish Army. Incirlik Air Base is the home of the 10th Air Wing (''Ana Jet Üssü'' or ''AJÜ'') of the 2nd Air Force Command (''Hava Kuvvet Komutanlığı'') of the Turkish Air Force (''Türk Hava Kuvvetleri''). Other wings of this command are located in Merzifon (LTAP), Malatya/Erhaç (LTAT) and Diyarbakır (LTCC). Incirlik Air Base has a U.S. Air Force (USAF) complement of about five thousand airmen, wit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gunsmoke (aerial Gunnery Competition)
Gunsmoke (officially known as the Air Force Worldwide Gunnery Competition) was a air-to-surface gunnery meet for conventional weapons, hosted by the United States Air Force. It was held biennially from 1949 to 1995, excepting a few years. It was succeeded by Hawgsmoke. The competition was held in odd-numbered years, alternating with the William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ... competition in even-numbered years. References United States Air Force exercises 1949 establishments in the United States {{USAF-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct United States in the Vietnam War, US military involvement escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian Civil War, Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars, which ended with all three countries becoming Communism, communist in 1975. After the defeat of the French Union in the First Indoc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War. It was originally designed as a single-seat, nuclear-attack aircraft; a two-seat Wild Weasel version was later developed for the specialized Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missile sites. The F-105 was commonly known as the "Thud" by its crews. It is the only American aircraft to have been removed from combat due to high loss rates. As a follow-on to the Mach 1 capable North American F-100 Super Sabre, the F-105 was also armed with missiles and a rotary cannon; however, its design was tailored to high-speed low-altitude penetration carrying a single nuclear weapon internally. First flown in 1955, the Thunderchief entered service in 1958. The single-engine F-105 could deliver a bomb load greater than som ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Military Reserve Force
A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve forces are generally considered part of a permanent standing body of armed forces, and allow a nation to reduce its peacetime military expenditures and maintain a force prepared for war. During peacetime, reservists typically serve part-time alongside a civilian job, although most reserve forces have a significant permanent full-time component as well. Reservists may be deployed for weeks or months-long missions during peacetime to support specific operations. During wartime, reservists may be kept in service for months or years at a time, although typically not for as long as active duty soldiers. In countries with a volunteer military, reserve forces maintain military skills by training periodically (typically one weeken ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |