Montgomery Air National Guard Base is the home base of the

Alabama Air National Guard The Alabama Air National Guard (AL ANG) is the aerial militia of the Alabama, State of Alabama, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Alabama Army National Guard, an element of the Alabama National Guard. As state milit ...

187th Fighter Wing The 187th Fighter Wing (187 FW) is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard, assigned to Dannelly Field, Alabama. If activated to federal service in the United States Air Force, the 187 FW is operationally gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC). ...

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History

The base has previously been known as Gunter Army Airfield Auxiliary #6 and is still sometimes known as Dannelly Field. The roots of the 187th Fighter Wing date back to 1952 when the Alabama Air National Guard organized the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

equipped with the RF-51 Mustang. The squadron moved to Dannelly Field on January 1, 1953, and entered the jet age with the arrival of the RF-80 Shooting Star in 1955. Within a year the 160th transitioned to the RF-84 Thunderflash aircraft, which served as the squadron's primary aircraft for the next 15 years. The squadron was mobilized during the Berlin Crisis in 1961-1962 and deployed to Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France. In August 1962, the squadron returned to normal peacetime status and was reorganized. It was then officially designated the 187th Reconnaissance Group. In 1971, the Thunderflash was replaced by the RF-4C Phantom II, which was flown for 17 years. From 1971 to 1982, the group remained in the reconnaissance role. The 187th won many honors during this timeframe, including the best reconnaissance unit in the nation in the Photo Finish "81" competition. In 1982, the 187th changed missions from reconnaissance to the multi-purpose fighter role after acquiring the F-4D. The Group established itself as a premier tactical fighter unit by capturing overall top honors in the ANG Fangsmoke competition in 1987. In October 1988, the Group converted to the

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

aircraft. In October 1995, the Group was designated a Wing under Air Force reorganization; becoming the 187th Fighter Wing.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Montgomery Air National Guard Base include the following. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Montgomery, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

(host wing) *** 187th Operations Group **** 100th Fighter Squadron – F-35A Lightning II *** 187th Maintenance Group **** Aircraft Maintenance Squadron *** 187th Medical Group *** 187th Mission Support Group **** Mission Support Group **** Civil Engineering **** Communications Squadron **** Force Support Squadron **** Logistics Readiness Squadron **** Security Forces Squadron

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

** 20th Fighter Wing *** 495th Fighter Group **** 377th Fighter Squadron (GSU) – F-35A Lightning II

Future

In April 2020, the Air Force announced that the F-35A Lighting II would be based at Montgomery ANGB, with the 187th Fighter Wing receiving its first aircraft in 2023.

References

{{AL Airport Installations of the United States Air Force in Alabama Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Alabama Installations of the United States Air National Guard Buildings and structures in Montgomery, Alabama Transportation buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Alabama