Forum: F-16 News

174th F-16’s start to leave Syracuse

Last Update: 4:21 pm

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - Two of the 174th Fighter Wing’s eighteen F-16’s took off from the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base for the last time today.

The 174th is in the midst of transitioning from flying F-16’s to MQ-9 Reapers. The Reapers are unmanned aerial vehicles.

“It is a bittersweet day for the 174th Fighter Wing. We are sad to see the first departures of the F-16 fighter jets that we have loved flying the past 19 years, but we are excited to open a new chapter of combat aviation with the coming MQ-9 Reaper mission,” Vice Wing Commander Col. Charles Dorsey said in a news release today.

Sixteen F-16s remain at the base. Most of them will leave over the next 18 months.


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Video link relating to todays departure

source: http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story.a ... a37f7c05e4

F-16 Conversion Underway At Hancock
Story Published: Oct 14, 2008 at 12:39 PM EDT
Story Updated: Oct 14, 2008 at 12:43 PM EDT
By WTVH News1

Watch the story

The 174th fighter bid fairwell to the first two of of their F-16 jets.

The base has a total of eighteen F-16's there and within about a year's time they will all find new homes at national airbases across the U.S.

The base will then start training on MQ9's or reapers. MQ9's have benefits including longer airtime before fueling and they're also unmanned aerieal vehicles.

That means they could be run by remote to gather intelligence without putting actual bodies in the line of fire.

Pilots at the base are sad to see the F-16's go but are looking at the bigger picture ahead.

source: http://www.wtvh.com:80/news/local/30946549.html