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New for 4th FS in OIF. The same day of the previous 4th Fs images posted.

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Thank you for posting that unknown pic, Alessandro! To identify the shortened serial number in front of the air refueling station I zoomed the downloaded hi-res version up to 400 percent. What I read should be 80459 or 80453. But according to my sources, there´s no F-16 with such a shortened serial number. Anyone who can identify this aircraft by the full serial number? And, is this aircraft really assigned to the 4th FS, as Alessandro stated?

Hello J.J.,

It must then be 88-0459 as 88-0453 was written-off on Mar. 13 1991 then assigned to the 421 FS.

Greetings,

Henrik.

in my hi rez version the serial number is 88-0459

Thank you, guys! I forgot that at this position the painted aircraft number is without the year´s second digit.

421st EFS, 14 may, somewhere over Iraq Twisted Evil

here is its brother. ammo load is the same. 1 x gbu-38, 1 x gbu-12, 2 x amraam and no siderwionders. note the sniper pod.

alessandroaspesi wrote:

here is its brother. ammo load is the same. 1 x gbu-38, 1 x gbu-12, 2 x amraam and no siderwionders. note the sniper pod.

These are wonderful shots you've accumulated, alessandro. Thanks for taking the time to share them.

The pod in question is actually a LITENING II pod.

Jake

Sorry for the confusion. It was exactly the LITENING. Sorry for the mistake. Here is a RNAF F-16, from defenselink.mil Rolling Eyes

Last edited by J.J. on May 23, 2006 - 07:58 AM; edited 2 times in total

Some days ago, at USAF´s main website I found a hi-res version of the pic which was posted by Alessandro on May 15. It was released as a single news photo:

Original photo caption: An F-16 Fighting Falcon connects with the refueling boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker during a refueling mission over Iraq on Friday, May 5, 2006. The tanker is with the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at a base in Southwest Asia. The Falcon, from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, flies out of Balad Air Base, Iraq. (USAF photo by Senior Airman Brian Ferguson)

Hi-res version:
http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/ ... 5F-114.JPG

Note from me: 88-0459 Block 40C, 4th FS, AIM-120 on station 1 (also on station 9), GBU-12 on station 3, possibly GBU-38 JDAM on station 7. Shortened aircraft number 80459 on the air refueling station, full serial number beneath the canopy. The 340th EARS is an expeditionary tanker host unit, assigned to the 379th AEW, Al Udeid AB, Qatar.

Thank you very much for posting your latest USAF OIF Viper pics, Alessandro! Never seen before!!! What´s your source? As an advice for the future, please add more informative photo captions for aircraft, location and time frame verification. The banking Viper in your first pic is just awesome and a very rare shot. As you posted, the photo was taken on May 14, somewhere over Iraq. Is this unidentified aircraft really from the 421st EFS which replaced the 4th EFS at Balad AB early this month for the current AEF 1/2 (Cycle 6) rotation (May - August 2006)? Or is that pic from previous deployments of the 421st EFS (AEF Blue, 2003, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, and AEF 1/2 Cycle 5, 2004, Balad AB, Iraq)? Your second pic (also a very nice shot) shows clearly 89-2015 Block 40E from the 4th FS. According to F-16.net´s Aircraft Database, this aircraft was formerly assigned to the 188th FS. Because AEF 9/10 (Cycle 5) was the first OIF deployment for the 4th FS (see my Balad topic), this photo must be taken somewhere over Southwest Asia during the last months. As Jake corrected, the pods are Litening II´s. The well known USAF photo of the RNAF Viper was taken in Afghanistan during an OEF deployment and should be actual not posted to this topic.

The first pic is taken exactly on 14 may 2006. So it's from the current black widows deplyment.
Alex

alessandroaspesi wrote:

The first pic is taken exactly on 14 may 2006. So it's from the current black widows deployment.
Alex

Hello all,

The "Black Widows" is the 421 FS - - the aircraft depicted are from the 4FS "Fighting Fujins". Hence the yellow tail band!!!!

Greetings,

Henrik.

The second pic is from 4 EFS, the first is a 421 EFS aircraft

Thanks Alessandro - also for these great pictures. Thumb

Greetings,

Henrik.

Forum: General F-16 forum

Operation Iraqi Freedom (F-16 Combat History)