Shaw Vipers!

After twenty-four years based in England, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, South Carolina on January 1, 1994. The 55th, 77th, and 79th Fighter Squadrons reactivated on the same day, having been in-activated during the previous year as their previous aircraft--the F-111E Aardvark--had been retired from service. Additionally, the 78th Fighter Squadron stood up at Shaw on January 3, 1994.

Once at Shaw, the 55th Fighter Squadron was originally equipped with the A-10 Thunderbolt II before passing those jets along to Pope AFB in 1996 and receiving block 50 F-16C/Ds in 1997. The 77th, 78th, and 79th Fighter Squadrons, meanwhile, were equipped with the block 50 machines from the beginning. Many of the aircraft were received directly from the factory, while others were transferred from other units.

Numerous combat deployments have taken place since the 20th Fighter Wing achieved mission ready status with the Viper. In total, the four squadrons have been deployed nearly twenty times to participate in Operation Allied Force, Operation Desert Fox, Operation Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, all with outstanding results. During an Operation Allied Force mission on May 4, 1999, F-16C 91-0353 shot down a Yugoslavian MiG-29 with an AIM-120B.

A major aircraft shuffle took place in 2003, as the 78th Fighter Squadron was inactivated on June 30. The majority of that squadron's aircraft were transferred down the flightline to the 55th Fighter Squadron. The 55th, in turn, sent its aircraft to the 522nd Fighter Squadron at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, as that squadron converted from block 30 F-16s to the block 50.

New aircraft continued to arrive directly from the factory to bolster the strength of the 20th Fighter Wing. F-16C 01-7053 became the last F-16 purchased by the USAF when it was delivered to the 79th Fighter Squadron on March 25, 2005.

In addition to new aircraft deliveries from Lockheed-Martin, the USAF was also heavily invested in the 20th Fighter Wing. A major upgrade to the block 50/52 F-16 fleet was launched in June 1998. CCIP (Common Configuration Implementation Program) was planned to enhance the cockpit and avionics of block 50/52 F-16s in the USAF inventory. CCIP provides several improvements, including new computers, full-color MFD displays, data link systems, and the Joint Helmet-Mounted cueing system, but the most obvious modification externally is the addition of the four "bird-slicer" AIFF antenna mounted directly in front of the cockpit. The first jet to be modified under the CCIP program was delivered to the 20th Fighter Wing on January 11, 2002.

The 20th Fighter Wing has a long and distinguished history, and has proven itself in combat more than nearly any other USAF fighter wing. There is no question that the wing will continue to provide a highly-capable strike force for the United States Air Force for many year to come.


			20th Fighter Wing Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina Air Combat Command


				92-3920 serves as the flagship for the 20th Fighter Wing. The wing operates three squadrons of block 50 vipers, specializing in the SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense) mission.