F-16 Aggressor Squadron In Alaska Becomes Unique Air Defense Unit
The 18th Aggressor Squadron is now the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, a designation not used since shortly after the end of the Cold War.
BY
TYLER ROGOWAY
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PUBLISHED APR 3, 2024 8:52 PM EDT
The 18th Aggressor Squadron (AGRS) based in Eielson AFB near Fairbanks, Alaska, has changed its designation to the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS). This is a major switch and the first time the FIS designation has been applied to a USAF squadron since shortly after the end of the Cold War. The change is telling as it underscores the morphing security situation both in the Arctic and the Pacific, as well as the USAF's priorities in the region.
An Air Force release on the changes to the squadron and its associated maintenance squadron states, in part:
"The 354th Fighter Wing redesignated the 18th Aggressor Squadron as the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and the 354th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron as the 18th Fighter Generation Squadron, Feb. 2, 2024, at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
The redesignation allows the 18th FIS and 18th FGS to organize, train, and equip for their primary combat mission of providing aerospace control for homeland defense missions in the Alaska Theater of Operations."
https://www.twz.com/air/f-16-aggressor-squadron-in-alaska-becomes-unique-air-defense-unit
