World War II The squadron's first predecessor was activated in July 1942 at
MacDill Field, Florida as one of the four original squadrons of the
336th Bombardment Group. It served as a
Replacement Training Unit for
Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers. The squadron was stationed at several bases in Florida before settling at
Lake Charles Army Air Field in November 1943.
Special operations The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at
Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho on 16 April 1951 as the
580th Aerial Resupply Squadron and assigned to the
580th Air Resupply and Communications Group. A few months later, the "Aerial" in its name was replaced by "Air." The squadron's B-29s were modified by removing all defensive armament, with a
parachutist's exit replacing the belly turret. Resupply bundles were mounted on racks in the
bomb bay. The squadron's mission included infiltration, resupply, and exfiltration of guerillas behind enemy lines and the aerial delivery of
psychological warfare materials. It trained to provide evacuation and supply support to personnel in enemy-occupied territory. In July 1985, the squadron was redesignated the
480th Air Resupply Squadron while remaining in inactive status. That September, it was consolidated with the active
480th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
Thunderstreak operations in France and New Mexico In response to the
Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Air Force had mobilized the
108th Tactical Fighter Wing. While the wing remained in the United states, elements deployed to
Chaumont Air Base, where
United States Air Forces in Europe organized the 7108th Tactical Fighter Wing as their headquarters. On 8 May 1962, the National Guard units returned to the United States, while their F-84Fs were transferred to the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, which replaced the 7108th. The 480th was reactivated along with the 366th Wing. The squadron was intended to replace National Guard units at
Phalsbourg Air Base, but the runway at Phalsbourg was under construction, so the squadron initially located with wing headquarers at Chaumont, moving to Phalsbourg in December. Starting in September the squadron sent F-84s to Wheelus Air Base for bombing and gunnery training. In addition to its primary, mission of providing
air support for
Seventh Army, the squadron kept four F-84s on 24 hour
alert status for
air defense of France and West Germany. During the
Cuban Missile Crisis in the fall of 1962 the squadron maintained all its planes on alert and pilots training at Wheelus and their planes were recalled. After two weeks, the squadron resumed its normal posture.
Vietnam War The squadron deployed to
Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, on 5 February 1966 as the USAF built up its forces there. There, it was assigned to the
2d Air Division and attached to the 6252d Tactical Fighter Wing at Da Nang. In April,
Seventh Air Force replaced the 2d Air Division and the
35th Tactical Fighter Wing replaced the 6252d. Then in October, the squadron returned to the 366th Wing as the wing moved to Da Nang. The squadron was the first to shoot down a
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 during the Vietnam War. While at Da Nang Air Base, the squadron scored eight additional MiG kills.
Operations from Spangdahlem First Activation The 480th was reactivated on 15 November 1976 as part of the
52nd Tactical Fighter Wing at
Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, again flying the F-4D Phantom II. It maintained an operationally ready nuclear and conventional strike capability. In late 1983, the entire 52nd Wing was tasked with the
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) mission. Each squadron was equipped with eight F-4G Advanced
Wild Weasel hunter aircraft and 16 F-4E Phantom II killers. Its deployed crews flew SEAD missions between 17 January and 11 April 1991 as part of
Operation Desert Storm. In October 1991, the squadron was redesignated as the
480th Fighter Squadron. The Warhawks became the USAF's first squadron to be equipped with the Block 50 F-16s.
Second activation In April 2010, the 52nd Fighter Wing's strength was reduced by one third when 20 F-16CJs and one F-16D were transferred to the
179th Fighter Squadron of the
Minnesota Air National Guard. As a result of the drawdown of F-16s, the 22nd and
23rd Fighter Squadrons were inactivated on 13 August 2010 and transferred their personnel and equipment to the reactivated
480th Fighter Squadron. The reformed squadron retained the primary SEAD role of its previous incarnation. Pilots who did not deploy for
Operation Inherent Resolve were impacted by the 2013
United States budget sequestration which grounded the squadron in April and led to multiple losses of flying currency. It was not until August 2013 that flying resumed and pilots at Spangdahlem regained the required proficiency in the F-16, and only with the help of instructor pilots from the
510th Fighter Squadron.
Expeditionary operations In March 2011, the Warhawks deployed personnel and F-16s to
Aviano Air Base, Italy, to form the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron to support
Operation Odyssey Dawn, flying cover for strike aircraft. They flew their first sortie on 21 March 2011, tasked with SEAD. On 2 May 2011, squadron members formed the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, which was activated in Iraq as part of
Operation New Dawn. Returning in November, the 480th was the last fighter unit to support Operation New Dawn. It flew cover for ground convoys and performed armed reconnaissance ahead of advancing ground forces. The squadron's F-16s flew 2,259 sorties with a total of 9,000 flying hours during its deployment to Iraq. In April 2013, the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was activated at
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, for six months to support
Operation Enduring Freedom. The squadron flew
search and rescue operations in addition to its SEAD mission. On 7 April 2016, squadron members formed the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in Southwest Asia to support Operation Inherent Resolve, flying close air support missions. During its six month deployment it flew more sorties than any previous comparable squadron returning to Spangdahlem on 12 October. The squadron has frequently deployed personnel and F-16s to participate in combined exercises with friendly air forces. In October 2010, the 480th deployed for the first time to
Graf Ignatievo Air Base in Bulgaria to train with
Mikoyan MiG-29s of the
Bulgarian Air Force in Exercise Thracian Star 2010. In March 2012, it deployed to
Konya Air Base to take part in Exercise Anatolian Eagle 2012 with the
Turkish Air Force, practicing SEAD. On 9 November 2012, the
52nd Operations Group set up a detachment (52nd Operations Group, Detachment 1) at
Lask Air Base, Poland. On 30 May 2014, the 480th deployed personnel and aircraft to support the detachment at Lask for two weeks, participating with Polish forces in Exercise Eagle Talon. In preparing for their 2016 deployment to support Operation Inherent Resolve, squadron members flew with the
Hellenic Air Force in exercises at
Souda Air Base, Greece. Its preparation also included participation in
Exercise Red Flag 15-3. The 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron was activated at
Uvda Air Base in Israel between 3 and 14 November 2019 to participate in
Israeli Exercise Blue Flag 2019. On 25 October 2024, amid
rising tensions in the
2024 Iran–Israel conflict,
CENTCOM announced that they were deploying F-16 fighters from the 480th to the Middle East.
Future On 29 July 2020, the
Department of Defense announced that the 480th would be moved from Spangdahlem to
Aviano Air Base, Italy as part of a plan to withdraw forces from Germany. The plans to move the squadron have been put on hold as the
Biden administration reviews the
Trump administration's plans to move the squadron to Italy. ==Lineage==