Fighter Jet News

F-16 Fighting Falcon News

Texas ANG deployment to Poland

September 15, 2004 (by Lieven Dewitte) - Seven F-16s departed from Andrews AFB yesterday enroute to Lask airbase in Poland as Trend 81-87. They are from the 182nd FS "Lonestar Gunfighters" and are taking part in a local air defense exercise called Sentry White Falcon.

USAF F-16C block 30 #88-0409 from 182 FS, normally based at San Antonio AFB, seen here at Kelly AFB on transition to Davis-Monthan AFB on February 12th, 2004. [Photo by Wally Van Winkle]

Tailnumbers that they passed on their boom frequency 236.750 were: #87-0235, #87-0255, #87-0285, #87-0339, #87-0341 and #87-0374. The airspare was #87-0248.

The 182nd FS operates from Kelly AFB and is part of the 149th Fighter Wing. They fly the F-16 since 1986 and converted from the F-16A to the F-16C/D block 32 model in 1996.

Lask AB is home to the 10 ELT and flies with 24 TS-11 as a gap filler between the Mig-21MF and UM, which retired in January 2003. The unit will stay at Lask AB and will be the second Polish unit to recieve the Viper.