149th Fighter Wing The 149th Fighter Wing ( 149 FW ) is a unit of the Texas Air National Guard , stationed at Kelly Field Annex , Joint Base San Antonio , Texas . If activated to federal service , the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . Overview . The 149th Fighter Wing at Kelly Field Annex , Lackland Air Force Base , Texas , is an F - 16 flying training unit that includes a support group with a worldwide mobility commitment . The cornerstone of the 149th ’ s flying mission is the 182d Fighter Squadron , whose role is to take pilots , either experienced aircrew or recent graduates from USAF undergraduate pilot training , and qualify them to fly the F - 16 Fighting Falcon . Units . The 149th Fighter Wing consists of the following units : In addition , the 149th has five geographically separated units : History . In August 1961 , as part of an Air Defense Command re - organization , the 182d Fighter Interceptor Squadron ' s assignment to 136th Air Defense Wing was terminated with 136th being transferred to Tactical Air Command . As a result , the 182d was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 149th Fighter - Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 182d Fighter Interceptor Squadron became the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 149th Headquarters , 149th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 149th Combat Support Squadron , and the 149th USAF Dispensary . The 149th was directly assigned to the Texas Air National Guard , being operationally gained by the Air Defense Command 33d Air Division . Equipped with the F - 102 Delta Dagger Mach - 2 interceptor , as with many other ANG squadrons the 182d temporally operated two TF - 102 twin - seat trainers for ANG F - 102 pilots while remaining on runway alert status . Also , the squadron operated T - 33A Shooting Star jet trainers and a Convair VT - 29 transport for courier duties . Tactical Air Support . In 1968 , the Air National Guard began to retire its F - 102s and the 182d was ordered to send their aircraft to Davis - Monthan AFB for storage at AMARC . In July , as part of the drawdown of continental fighter air defense , the 149th FIG was transferred from Aerospace Defense Command to Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , with the Group and 182d being re - designated as a Tactical Fighter Group and Squadron . As an interim measure , the 182d Tactical Fighter Squadron was re - equipped with obsolescent F - 84F Thunderjet s by TAC . The squadron was the second - to - last ANG squadron to fly the F - 84F . During the summer of 1971 the 182d began to receive F - 100D / F Super Sabre tactical fighter bombers . The 182d was one of the first ANG squadrons to receive the Super Sabre , as most were being operated in South Vietnam at the time . The F - 100s received by the squadron were aircraft being withdrawn from the 20th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Wethersfield , England , when Wethersfield was being closed for flight operations , and the wing being re - equipped with the new General Dynamics F - 111 at a new base , RAF Upper Heyford . The Super Sabre was dedicated fighter - bomber , with no concession being made to a secondary air - superiority role and the squadron trained in using the fighter for ground support . Beginning in 1975 , the 182d began a NATO commitment , with squadron aircraft and personnel deploying to the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) for Autumn Forge / Cold Fire / Reforger exercises . By 1979 , the Super Sabres were being retired , and were replaced by McDonnell F - 4C Phantom II s , largely Vietnam War veteran aircraft , that were made available to the Air National Guard . With the Phantom , the 182d continued their tactical fighter mission with the more capable aircraft . The squadron also continued its NATO deployments , exercising at USAFE bases in West Germany , England , the Netherlands and Denmark . In 1986 , the Phantoms were reaching the end of the operational service , and they were replaced by the F - 16A Fighting Falcon . The F - 16s were transferred from the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing , Moody AFB , Georgia . Initially the squadron began to receive Block 15 single - seat F - 16As , and a few twin - seat F - 16Bs . The Block 15 was the major production model of the F - 16A . The F - 16s received were modified the Air National Guard ' s new priority in the 1980s , when it was assigned the primary responsibility of the aerial defense of the continental United States . The aircraft received were the F - 16A Air Defense ( ADF ) variant , being equipped with HF radio and an improved APG - 66 radar that was compatible with the AIM - 7 Sparrow and AIM - 120 AMRAAM radar - guided missiles for air - to - air interceptor missions . A spotlight was installed on the side of the nose to aid in the identification of nighttime intruders . At its peak , the ANG ADF force equipped a defensive chain which surrounded the entire perimeter of the continental United States . Higher - performance Block 25 F - 16C / D aircraft replaced the Block 15 A / B model aircraft in 1996 . Although similar in appearance to the earlier models , the Block 25 aircraft were a considerable advancement with the Westinghouse AN / APG - 68 ( V ) multi - mode radar with better range , sharper resolution , and expanded operating modes . The planar array in the nose provides numerous air - to - air modes , including range - while - search , uplook and velocity search , single target track , raid cluster resolution , and track - while - scan for up to 10 targets . The radar was capable of handling the guidance of the AGM - 65 Maverick air - to - surface missile . Upgraded engines made the aircraft capable of Mach - 2 performance . However , the Block 25 aircraft were all powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100 - PW - 200 turbofan , which were prone to engine stalls . In 1998 , the squadron received Block 30 aircraft , with wider intakes and the General Electric F - 110 engine . However , by the mid - 1990s and with the end of the Cold War , there appeared to be no longer any threat to America ' s homeland from bombers or cruise missiles . Modern era . In 1999 , the mission of the 149th Fighter Group was changed from Air Combat operations to becoming a Formal Training Unit ( FTU ) for Air National Guard F - 16 pilots under Air Education and Training Command . The 182d provides combat training for active duty , Air National Guard , and Reserve F - 16 pilots , including recent graduates from USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training making them combat ready upon graduation of a 9 - month course . Almost all instructor pilots within the unit are former active duty F - 16 pilots . Although the squadron is not officially a combat unit , after the 9 / 11 attacks in 2001 and 2002 , the squadron flew Operation Noble Eagle air defense missions in the United States in support of USNORTHCOM and the U . S . Department of Homeland Security . It also deploys to other bases , flying Dissimilar air combat training missions against active - duty , reserve and ANG units . In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations , DoD recommended to realign the 178th Fighter Wing , Ohio Air National Guard to an MQ - 1 Predator ISR mission and transfer six additional Block 30 F - 16 aircraft to the 182d Fighter Squadron . DoD claimed that its recommendation was made because Lackland ( Kelly Annex ) ( 47 ) had higher military value than Springfield - Beckley AGB ( 128 ) . This recommendation also would optimize the squadron size of the 182d , the only ANG F - 16 Flying Training Unit . The squadron ' s Block 30 aircraft , manufactured between 1987 and 1989 are currently reaching the end of their service life . They have been certified by Boeing though at least 2015 , however it is unclear what aircraft or what the mission of the unit will transition to in the future .