Air Guard Block 52 F-16s from the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire JNGB, S.C., deployed to Lask AB, Poland, on May 28, as part of a training deployment to support Operation Atlantic Resolve. The deployment will pair 169th FW F-16s crews with their Polish Air Force counterparts to conduct bilateral training events from Lask, as part of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa’s allied reassurance initiatives. The US and Poland agreed to establish a permanent aviation detachment at the airfield back in 2012, the first full-time USAF presence in the country, and the location has served as a hub for rotational training and cooperation activities.
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…