The 524th Fighter Squadron recently became the second F-16 unit to cease operations at Cannon AFB, N.M., where the 27th Fighter Wing is transforming from a Viper wing into a special operations wing next month. The 27th FW inactivated the 523rd FS in May. The wing’s third operations unit, the 522nd FS, will be last to shut down; it took one more Air Expeditionary Force rotation, deploying to Andersen AFB, Guam, in late May for four months.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.