Twelve F-16s and about 200 airmen are deploying to Osan AB, South Korea, from New Jersey this month to provide security in the region. The airmen and jets from the 119th Fighter Squadron at Atlantic City ANGB, N.J., are deploying as part of a US Pacific Command Theater Security Package, according to an Air National Guard release. The rotations are routine, yet the deployment comes at a time of increased tensions on the Korean peninsula as North Korea continues to test ballistic missiles. The F-16s will augment Fighting Falcons already based at Osan with the 51st Fighter Wing.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.