Grim Reapers deploy to Iceland

On 8 October 2020, United States Air Forces Europe's 493rd Fighter Squadron, part of the 48th Fighter Wing, deployed  fourteen F-15C/D Eagles to Keflavik Air Base (Iceland).

Normally based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, the Eagle detachment is deploying to Iceland to fly Air Policing missions within the framework of NATO’s defensive air role in the High North. Iceland is one example of special Air Policing arrangements, as they do not have own fighter aircraft to conduct the mission.

In the past, the USAF maintained one fighter squadron for Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties at Keflavik. The 57th Fighter Squadron, back then part of USAF's Air Combat Command, was inactivated on 1 March 1995.

The following LN coded Eagles are now deployed to Iceland:
84-0010, 84-0019, 84-0044(D), 84-0046(D), 86-0156, 86-0159, 86-0160, 86-0163, 86-0164, 86-0165, 86-0166, 86-0171, 86-0172 and 86-0175.

Credit photo: USAF

Credit patch: TAIRNGREACHT_BAS