page_title: 492nd Fighter Squadron
section_title: Modern era
hierarchical_section_title: 492nd Fighter Squadron / History / Modern era
caption_attribution_description: An F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 492nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron takes off from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan June 9. The 492nd EFS is deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Craig Seals)
context_page_description: The 492nd Fighter Squadron, nicknamed "the Bolars" and "the Madhatters", is part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England, where they operate the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle.
context_section_description: Redesignated as the 492nd Fighter Squadron (492nd FS) on 1 October 1991, the Bolars switched aircraft again, exchanging the F-111Fs for the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle in early February 1992. This continued to add to the previous 50 years of flying the air-to-ground mission with one of the most capable multi-role/air-to-ground jets in the current Air Force inventory.
  The squadron participated in Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya in March 2011, along with numerous deployments to Southwest Asia supporting Air Expeditionary units as part of the ongoing Global War on Terrorism as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
  The Bolars participated in a short deployment to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in November 2015 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). Accompanied by 493d Fighter Squadron, the F-15s were sent to enforce the sovereign air space of Turkey.
  The Bolars deployed once again in support of OIR in April 2017 for six months as the 492nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (EFS), relieving the 389th EFS. On 8 June, 97-0219 shot down a pro-Syrian Regime Shahed 129 UAV after it had fired upon friendly forces. Another Shahed 129 was shot down on 20 June by 98-0135 after it began advancing on coalition forces. The 492nd EFS were replaced by the Seymour Johnson AFB based 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in October 2017. Over the course of the deployment, the 492nd flew over 2,000 missions, delivered over 4,000 precision munitions across 11,000 combat flying hours and achieved two air-to-air kills against enemy aircraft. Because of the squadron's extreme combat effectiveness and achievement of total air dominance in the AO, they were awarded the Raytheon Trophy, a first for any Strike Eagle squadron and multi-role aircraft.
  In May 2019, the 492nd provided dissimilar air combat training for the General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcons of the 93rd Fighter Squadron, who had deployed from Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, to RAF Lakenheath.
  Between July and August 2019, the Bolars deployed to the U.S. with 14 F-15Es, initially to participate in Red Flag 19–3 at Nellis AFB, before spending two weeks at Mountain Home AFB alongside the 366th Fighter Wing for Weapon System Evaluation Program (WSEP) exercises 'Combat Hammer' and 'Combat Archer'.
caption: McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle 97-0221 of the 492nd EFS taking off from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, 2007.
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