525th Fighter Squadron The 525th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit . It is assigned to the 3d Operations Group and stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base , Alaska . Overview . The combat - ready fighter squadron is prepared for rapid worldwide deployment of a squadron of F - 22A Raptor aircraft to accomplish precision engagement of surface targets using a wide variety of conventional air - to - surface munitions . The 525th FS trains in the fighter missions of strategic attack , interdiction , offensive counterair ( air - to - surface ) , suppression of enemy air defenses , as well as offensive and defensive counterair ( air - to - air ) . History . World War II . The 525th Fighter Squadron originally activated during World War II as the 309th Bombardment Squadron ( Light ) on 10 February 1942 , to support Allied Forces in the European Theater of Operations . The squadron began training for operations at Will Rogers Field , Oklahoma , and was assigned to the 86th Bombardment Group . In August 1942 , the squadron transferred to Key Field , Mississippi , to start flight training in the Douglas A - 20 Havoc . A month later , the squadron was redesignated the 309th Bombardment Squadron ( Dive ) . By year ' s end , the squadron started the transition to two new combat aircraft types , the Vultee A - 31 Vengeance and the North American A - 36 Apache . The squadron achieved combat ready status on 19 March 1943 . Ready to support the war effort , the 309th Bombardment Squadron boarded the SS " John Erickson " in April 1943 . Twelve days after its departure from the United States , the squadron landed at La Senia , Algeria . The 309th moved to Mediouna , French Morocco , on 15 May 1943 ; Marnia , French Morocco , on 3 June 1943 ; and to Tafaraoui , Algeria on 11 June 1943 . This is where the squadron acquired its first combat experience on 6 July 1943 . On the squadron ' s first day of combat , it struck enemy entrenchments in Sicily , softening enemy resistance for General George S . Patton ' s invading 7th Army . Following the invasion , the 309th Bombardment Squadron set up its operations in Gela , Sicily , on 20 July 1943 , and to Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto , Sicily , on 27 July 1943 , to support the Allied campaign , known as Naples - Foggia , against the West Coast of Italy . The 309th Bombardment Squadron was redesignated as the 525th Fighter - Bomber Squadron on 23 August 1943 . While in Italy , the 525th moved several more times while participating in the Rome - Arno campaign . Bases for the 525th included Italian airfields at Sele , Serretella , and Pomigliano in 1943 . During 1944 , the squadron operated from Marcianise , Ciampino , Orbetello , Grosseto , Italy and Poretta , Corsica . Two of the more famous battles during the Italian campaigns were Salerno and Cassino . The 525th Fighter - Bomber Squadron figured prominently in these battles , providing air support to Allied ground forces . In 1944 , the 525th transitioned to the Republic P - 47 Thunderbolt . Along with the new aircraft the 525th was redesignated the 525th Fighter Squadron on 30 May 1944 . In February 1945 , the squadron moved to Tantonville , France , to fly missions against Germany . Two months later it moved into Germany , establishing its headquarters at Braunschardt on 18 April 1945 . The 525th flew its last combat mission on 8 May 1945 , and postwar the headquarters moved to Schweinfurt on 23 October 1945 . Cold War . The 525 FS was administratively moved to Bolling Field , Washington D . C . , on 23 October 1945 , as it awaited the realignment of U . S . Forces under the Status of Forces Agreement s at the end of World War II . The 525th FS was temporarily inactivated on 31 March 1946 . It was reactivated on 20 August 1946 , at Nordholz Airbase , Germany , again flying the P - 47 Thunderbolt . The squadron made three more moves in Germany ; to Lechfeld on 13 November 1946 , Bad Kissingen on 5 March 1947 , and then to Neubiberg Air Base on 12 June 1947 , where the squadron was the closest operational Air Force unit to the Iron Curtain . On 20 January 1950 , the 525th Fighter Squadron was redesignated the 525th Fighter - Bomber Squadron . In October 1950 , the squadron transitioned to its first jet aircraft , the Republic F - 84E Thunderjet and operated under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program . As a part of MDAP , the 525th trained pilots and ground crews of many European and Middle Eastern countries . The 525th FBS moved to Landstuhl , Germany ( later called Ramstein Air Base ) , on 20 November 1952 , where it transitioned to the North American F - 86 Sabre . The F - 86 was Europe ' s first all - weather fighter - interceptor , and the 86th Fighter Group was the first to fly it in Europe . The 525th first flew the F - 86F Sabre on 14 April 1953 . Flying the F - 86 in the air defense role , the 525th was redesignated as the 525th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron on 9 August 1954 . In 1957 , the squadrons of the 86th Group were dispersed throughout Europe to provide better air defense coverage and reduce vulnerability to attack . On 12 February 1957 , the squadron moved to Bitburg Air Base , Germany . The 525th was the only squadron at Bitburg to maintain air defense alert for the next 20 years . The 525th received its first Convair F - 102 Delta Dagger in February 1959 and was selected to represent the U . S . Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) at the 1959 William Tell competition . Although new to its aircraft , the 525th took the lead in the competition and held it until the last event when it was nosed out by a few points . In 1965 , 1967 , and 1971 the 525th was chosen as the Sector III representative to the NATO Air Superiority Competitions . In each competition , the squadron made an outstanding showing , winning the Guynemeyer Trophy for the best sector performance in 1971 . The 525th officially became part of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 November 1968 . On 1 October 1969 , the squadron was redesignated the 525th Tactical Fighter Squadron . Still maintaining two aircraft on 24 - hour air defense alert status , the 525th ' s new mission now included close air support and limited nuclear air - to - ground delivery . Additionally , on 16 November 1969 , the 525th became the first squadron in Germany to fly the McDonnell Douglas F - 4E Phantom II . The 525th was subsequently nominated by USAFE for the Hughes Trophy in 1969 . In 1970 and 1971 , the 525th was awarded the Allied Forces Central Europe Scroll of Honor . This prestigious award for " outstanding operational achievement " was given for twice consecutively earning the coveted rating of " 1 " on tactical evaluations by the Allied Air Forces Central Europe . In 1974 , the 525th was nominated by USAFE again for the Hughes trophy , and received a commendable citation in a close finals competition . That year the squadron established Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics ( DACT ) training with the Northrop F - 5 aggressor squadron at RAF Alconbury , England . Later , the squadron was the first in USAFE to establish DACT programs with non - aggressor and non - USAF adversaries . The 525th was chosen to be the first squadron in Europe to fly the McDonnell Douglas F - 15 Eagle . 525th pilots flew the first 23 F - 15 Eagles to Europe on 27 April 1977 during a historic , non - stop deployment from Langley Air Force Base , Virginia , to Bitburg Air Base , Germany . Operation Ready Eagle became a success when , 18 hours after arrival at Bitburg , the squadron ' s pilots were sitting five - minute alert status with two of the F - 15s . After less than one month on station , the Bullfrogs were declared Europe ' s first operationally ready F - 15 squadron on 26 May 1977 . In 1978 , the 525th was featured as part of the McDonnell Douglas film , " Eagles in Defense of Europe . " In October 1979 , the 525th flew the first training missions at the new Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation range at Decimomannu Air Base , Sardinia , Italy . In 1984 , the squadron participated in an exchange with the French Air Force , sending six F - 15s to Orange - Caritat Air Base , France , in exchange for four Mirage F - 1 aircraft . The French pilots flew for several weeks with the 525th and operated out of 525 TFS operations facilities at Bitburg . In 1986 , and again in 1987 , the 525th deployed to Morocco and set up bare base operations at Sidi Sliminc . The 525th lived and functioned for four weeks out of tents and flew its missions with F - 1 and F - 5 aircraft from Morocco . In November 1988 , the 525th won USAFE ' s Excalibur air - to - air weapons competition . In April 1989 , the squadron set a wing record for the most sorties in one month , flying 678 sorties , with 14 aircraft , while deployed to Decimomannu Air Base , Italy . Gulf War . In August 1990 , Iraqi military forces attacked and occupied the nation of Kuwait , precipitating the Gulf War . As a result the 525 TFS deployed to Incirlik Air Base , Turkey , in December 1990 . When the squadron arrived at Incirlik it joined American General Dynamics F - 16 Fighting Falcon s from Spain , General Dynamics F - 111 Aardvark s from England , Wild Weasel s from Germany , Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker s from Texas , and Boeing E - 3 Sentry and other electronic combat support aircraft from around the world . These units , deployed to Incirlik Air Base , formed the 7440th Combat Wing ( Provisional ) - the U . S . Air Force ' s first composite wing . On the night of 17 January 1991 , the squadron flew its first strike against Iraq . On 19 January 1991 , two 525th pilots used AIM - 7 Sparrow radar missiles to destroy two Iraqi Mirage F - 1s . During the next six weeks , until the cease - fire , the 525th flew around the clock , protecting two strikes per day and one strike each night . These strikes targeted military airfields , nuclear and chemical facilities , communications centers , power plants , and oil refineries and storage facilities in northern Iraq . By the middle of February , the 525th was attacking Baghdad . In addition to protecting strike aircraft , the 525th was frequently tasked to man barrier Combat Air Patrol s in eastern Iraq to destroy Iraqi fighters attempting to flee to Iran . These missions , often lasting in excess of five hours , required the squadron to operate more than 150 miles behind enemy lines without any support assets . The squadron flew 1 , 329 combat sorties for a total of 3 , 550 combat hours during operations against Iraq . The squadron shot down six enemy aircraft without losing any of its own aircraft . On 13 March 1991 , the 525th returned to Bitburg . The squadron deployed back to Incirlik AB on 5 April 1991 to support Operation Provide Comfort . Following the war against Iraq , numerous Kurdish refugees fled northward from the remaining forces of Saddam Hussein . The United States initiated a vast airlift operation , named Operation Provide Comfort , to drop food and supplies to these refugees concentrated in Iraq along the Turkish border . Because tensions between the Iraqi and Allied forces in the area remained quite high , the 525th was called back to Turkey in April 1991 to protect the vulnerable Allied cargo aircraft . In addition , the 525th was tasked , as part of the operation , to fly at low altitude over Iraq and provide intelligence updates of Iraqi troop and equipment locations . Between 5 April and 25 May 1991 , the 525th flew 285 sorties over Iraq in support of Operation Provide Comfort without a single Allied aircraft being lost in Iraq due to hostile fire . Recent Events . The 525th deployed to Leeuwarden Air Base , Netherlands , during October 1991 . In December 1991 , the Bulldogs deployed to RAF Bentwaters , England , to train on the new North Sea Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation range . The final weapons training deployment for the 525th TFS was at Leeuwarden Air Base , Netherlands , from 16 – 27 March 1992 . The 525 TFS inactivated at Bitburg AB on 1 April 1992 . After 15 years of inactivation , Pacific Air Forces redesignated and activated the 525th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base , Alaska , on 29 October 2007 . The 525th Fighter Squadron is now armed with the Air Force ' s newest fighter aircraft , the Lockheed Martin F - 22 Raptor .