World War II The
squadron was first activated in May 1943 at
Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona as the
719th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the
449th Bombardment Group. It trained with
Consolidated B-24 Liberators at
Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico and
Bruning Army Air Field, Nebraska before departing for the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations in November 1943. The squadron was equipped with eighteen reconnaissance-modified Superfortresses. Eight of the aircraft were modified into the F-13A reconnaissance configuration, being fitted with special camera installations for photographic mapping and
aerial reconnaissance work. The F-13As carried three K-17B, two K-22 and one K-18 cameras with provisions for others. However, the standard B-29 bombing equipment and defensive armament were retained. Simultaneously with its redesignation, the squadron moved to
Ladd Field, Alaska with a mission to fly reconnaissance and photographic mapping missions over the
Arctic and perform reconnaissance along the northern border of Soviet territory in the Arctic, as well as deep-penetration reconnaissance flights. All of its missions were classified as Top Secret, the classification wasn't dropped until 2001. In August, the squadron was transferred from SAC to
Alaskan Air Command. The two units are sometimes referred to as the 46th/72d Reconnaissance Squadron and a former alumni group was titled the 46th/72d Recon Association.
Expeditionary operations The squadron was converted to provisional status as the
46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and was assigned to the
332d Expeditionary Operations Group. It deployed to
Tallil Air Base, Iraq with the
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator as part of
Operation Iraqi Freedom under the command of the
332d Air Expeditionary Wing. Sometime between then and June 2004 the unit moved to
Joint Base Balad. Sometime between June 2004 and 2009 the unit was renamed to "46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance and Attack Squadron". During May 2016 the unit was noticed operating from Ali Al Salem Airbase, Kuwait, against Da'esh as part of the
Military intervention against ISIL operating over
Iraq and
Syria under the
386th Air Expeditionary Wing. The squadron replaced its Predators with
General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers, becoming the
46th Expeditionary Attack Squadron. It carried out its first mission with the Block 5 Reaper in support of
Operation Inherent Resolve on 20 October 2017. Squadron members prepare its UAVs for missions and control their takeoff and landing, During flight, they are handed off to pilots and sensor operators in the United States for control through satellite systems. Local control by the 46th is required during takeoff and landing due to the short delay inherent in the satellite based communications links used by controllers at
Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. ==Lineage==