The 184th Attack Squadron (184 ATKS) is a unit of the
Arkansas Air National Guard
The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the Arkansas, State of Arkansas, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element o ...
188th Wing located at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Arkansas. The 184th is equipped with the
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...
. In June 2014 the squadron transitioned from A-10C to the MQ-9.
Overview
The 184th Attack Squadron
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) mission is to provide close air support (CAS), air interdiction, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and attack to eliminate threats when present. The multi-role capabilities of these RPAs allows Combat Search and Rescue operations and extended time over targets to locate, track, target, strike, and assess time sensitive targets.
History
Tactical Reconnaissance
Authorized by the
National Guard Bureau
The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...
in 1953 at the 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. Organized at
Fort Smith Regional Airport
Fort Smith Regional Airport is a public use airport located near the Interstate 540 freeway three nautical miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. FSM ...
, Arkansas and extended recognition as a new unit on 15 October 1953. The squadron was assigned to the
Tennessee ANG 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Berry Field, Nashville, for administration, operational control was exercised by the
Arkansas Air National Guard
The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the Arkansas, State of Arkansas, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element o ...
.
The 184th TRS was initially equipped with
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
-era
RB-26C Invader night photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The black-painted RB-26s were originally medium bombers that were modified for aerial reconnaissance in the late 1940s. Most of the aircraft received were
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
veterans, were unarmed and carried cameras and flash flares for night aerial photography. In 1956, the B-26 was reaching the end of its operational USAF service, and the squadron was re-equipped with
RF-80A Shooting Star daylight reconnaissance aircraft that were also nearly obsolescent.
In January 1957, the 184th retired its worn-out RF-80s and received new
RF-84F Thunderstreak reconnaissance aircraft, manufactured for Air National Guard use. During the
1961 Berlin Crisis, the squadron was federalized and assigned to the mobilized
Kentucky ANG 123d Tactical Reconnaissance Group however it remained at Fort Smith and was released from active duty and returned to Arkansas state control on 22 August 1962.
On 22 August 1962, the 184th was authorized to expand to a group level, and the
188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the
National Guard Bureau
The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...
. The 184th TRS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 188th Headquarters, 188th Material Squadron (Maintenance), 188th Combat Support Squadron, and the 188th USAF Dispensary.
In 1970 with the winding-down of the
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 w ...
, the 184th began receiving McDonnell
RF-101C Voodoos, replacing the RF-84Fs the unit had been flying for over a decade. The USAF had, however, planned for the RF-101C to be gradually phased out of USAF service in favor of the McDonnell
RF-4C Phantom II and the aircraft remained with the 184th TRS for only a brief period of time, and in 1970 was retired.
Tactical Fighter

Following their withdrawal from the
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 w ...
, numerous USAF
F-100D Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...
s were turned over to the Air National Guard. Tactical Air Command realigned the 151st into a Tactical Fighter Group in 1972, and equipping the unit with Vietnam Veteran F-100D and twin-seat F-100F Trainers. In 1979, the Super Sabre was being retired and the 184th TFS began receiving
F-4C Phantom IIs to be used in an air defense role. In 1988, as part of the retirement of the Phantom II, the squadron began receiving Block 15
F-16A Fighting Falcons. The first F-16 delivery to the squadron was on 1 July 1988 and the formal acceptance of the F-16 happened on 15 October. On 15 March 1992, the 184th dropped the Tactical name from the squadron as the parent 184th converted to the USAF Objective organization.
In early 2001 the 184th FS began to retire its F-16A/B block 15s to AMARC in exchange for F-16C block 32s. They never received any D-models. Because the squadron flew the rarely seen block 32, the squadron became a source for spare F-16s for the
USAF Thunderbirds flight demonstration team. In the end, the 184th FS never had to give up any of their aircraft as the Thunderbirds took needed aircraft from home based Nellis
57th Fighter Wing.
Deployed to
Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia (24 October 2002 to December 2002) in support of
Operation Southern Watch
Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003.
United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...
. In 2005, the 188th deployed nearly 300 Airmen and multiple F-16C Fighting Falcons to
Balad Air Base
Balad Air Base () , is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad, Iraq.
Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base was captured by the United States Armed Force ...
, Iraq, in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...
.
BRAC 2005
BRAC 2005 initially decided to inactivate the 188th Fighter Wing and close Fort Smith ANGB. With a great deal of effort by Arkansas' leaders caused the BRAC panel to change its decision on the 184th FS and give it a new mission. The squadron would still lose its F-16s but in their place would get a total of eighteen
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...
ground attack aircraft. One of the deciding factors was Fort Smiths location near
Fort Chaffee
Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center, also known as Fort Chaffee, is an Arkansas Army National Guard Military base, installation located in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Fort Smith. Established as Camp C ...
, a former National Guard training post.
On 18 October 2006 the 184th FS began giving up F-16s when two departed for the
194th Fighter Squadron located at
Fresno Air National Guard Base
Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...
, California. By April 2007 the 184th FS had already begun to receive the A-10 from the Massachusetts ANG
104th Fighter Wing and pilots had already commenced cross training in October. On 14 April 2007 the 184th FS marked the day with a celebration 'Viper Out/Warthog In' day. The 184th FS took the opportunity to display their new A-10 paint scheme and to still fly the F-16 but the 184th FS at this point was officially an A-10 unit.
Current status
In early 2012 the Air Force planned to realign the 188th Fighter Wing and replace its 20 A-10 aircraft, converting the 184th FS to operate the General Atomics
MQ-1 Predator
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the Predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). However, after extensive discussions in August 2012 it was announced that the 188th Fighter Wing would retain its A-10s.
In July 2012, the Wing deployed 275 airmen and aircraft to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...
. They were assigned to the
455th Air Expeditionary Wing,
Bagram Airfield
Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base , is located southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan), Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient town ...
, near Kabul. This was the second AEF deployment for the 188th as a unit since receiving A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthogs" 14 April 2007. The 188th's last AEF deployment transpired in 2010 when the unit deployed about 300 Airmen and 12 A-10Cs to the
451st Air Expeditionary Wing at
Kandahar Airfield.
The guardsmen remained in Afghanistan until October, flying close-air support in response to ground troops who may be in contact with the enemy, or to escort convoys in particularly hostile areas. When not supporting ground troops, A-10s patrol designated sectors and provided aerial reconnaissance on locations of interest to ground commanders. In three months, Arkansas ANG A-10s delivered more than 60,000 30mm cannon rounds and more than 250 precision munitions on enemy targets.
In June 2014, the last of the units A-10C aircraft departed and the unit was re-designated the 184th Attack Squadron.
Lineage
* Designated 184th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and allotted to Arkansas ANG in 1953
: Extended federal recognition on 15 October 1953
: Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 October 1961
: Released from active duty and returned to Arkansas state control, 22 August 1962
: Re-designated: 184th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 July 1972
: Re-designated: 184th Fighter Squadron, 16 March 1992
: Designated: 184th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron when elements deployed to United States Air Forces Central during Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF) deployments.
: Re-designated: 184th Attack Squadron June 2014
Assignments
*
118th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 15 October 1953
*
123d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 October 1961
*
188th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 22 August 1962
*
188th Tactical Fighter Group, 1 July 1972
*
188th Fighter Group, 16 March 1992
* 188th Operations Group, 1 October 1995–present
Stations
*
Fort Smith Regional Airport
Fort Smith Regional Airport is a public use airport located near the Interstate 540 freeway three nautical miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. FSM ...
, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 15 October 1953
: Designated:
Fort Smith Air National Guard Station, 1991–present
Aircraft
*
RB-26C Invader, 1953–1956
*
RF-80A Shooting Star, 1956–1957
*
RF-84F Thunderstreak, 1957–1970
*
RF-101C Voodo, 1970–1972
*
F-100D/F Super Sabre, 1972–1979
*
F-4C Phantom II, 1979-1998
*
F-16A Fighting Falcon, 1988–2001
*
F-16C Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
, 2001–2007
*
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...
, 2007–2014
*
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomi ...
, 2014–present
References
188th Fighter Wing history page
External links
{{Arkansas
Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard
Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force
Military units and formations in Arkansas