Viper farewell for the 187th Fighter Wing

On 21 April 2023, the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, based at Montgomery Regional Airport / Dannelly Field (AL) formally said goodbye to the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.

The wing, with 100th Fighter Squadron Red Tails and active associate Air Force Reserve Command 377th Fighter Squadron - part of the 495th Fighter Group -, will now prepare to field the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, of which the first ones will arrive later this year.

The F-16s are in the process of being transitioned to other bases across the country. The last F-16s departed on the day of the farewell ceremony. Originally, the 187th controlled the 160th Fighter Squadron and this unit (then a Tactical Fighter Squadron) transferred to the F-16A/B in 1988.

In 2007, the Alabama legislature requested the National Guard Bureau to allow the Alabama Air National Guard 160th Fighter Squadron to be re-designated as the 100th Fighter Squadron so the state could honour the legacy of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. This was obtained from the Air Force and on 12 September 2009, the 100th Flying Training Squadron was inactivated. The designation was transferred to the National Guard Bureau by the Air Force and it was allotted to the Alabama ANG. As a result, the 160th Fighter Squadron was inactivated, and the new 100th Fighter Squadron assumed its personnel, equipment and aircraft. The 160th Fighter Squadron stood down in a ceremony at Montgomery Air National Guard Base, on 13 September 2007, with the 100th Fighter Squadron standing up and being bequeathed the history, lineage, and honors of the World War II 100th Fighter Squadron and its successor units.

After more than three decades operating the F-16, the Red Tails will move on to the next phase. Back in December 2017, the USAF announced that the 187th Fighter Wing was one of two Air National Guard wings selected to operate the F-35A.

Photo by Rob van Disseldorp (Scramble Archive)