82d Aerial Targets Squadron
| 82d Aerial Targets Squadron | |
|---|---|
General Ronald E. Keys, commander of Air Combat Command in an 82d ATRS QF-4E Phantom II over the Atlantic Ocean in September 2007, Key's final military flight
|
|
| Active | 1942-1945; 1946-1971; 1981-present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Role | Aerial target operation |
| Garrison/HQ | Tyndall Air Force Base |
| Engagements |
|
| Decorations |
|
| Insignia | |
| 82d Aerial Targets Squadron emblem |  |
The 82d Aerial Targets Squadron (82 ATRS) is a United States Air Force (USAF) unit. It is assigned to the 53d Weapons Evaluation Group and stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
The 82d Aerial Targets Squadron (82 ATRS) was the last USAF unit which flew the F-4 Phantom II, flying the QF-4E,-G, and QRF-4C versions in the role of an aerial target. The 82 ATRS also had a Detachment at Holloman AFB to fly QF-4s in support of DoD testing in the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) Complex.
A secondary mission was the use of man-rated QF-4s in support of the USAF Heritage Flight program at military air shows and other specific commemorative events as authorized by Air Combat Command.
The squadron also maintains three 120-foot drone recovery vessels and two smaller vessels to recover aerial targets and support range safety, patrol, and salvage operations. Squadron members also operate the Air Force’s only two E-9A Widgets, a military version of the de Havilland Canada DHC-8.
In 2013, the squadron commenced acquisition of the first batch of QF-16 aircraft. The QF-16 has replaced the QF-4 in the Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) role.
The 82d Fighter Squadron saw combat in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 13 April 1943 to 25 April 1945, and training, maneuvers, and air defense, from April to September 1945. It was part of the occupation forces in Germany from August 1946 to June 1947. It served in air defense in United States from January 1949 to March 1953 and from October 1954 to February 1966.
During the Cold War, the then-82d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (82 FIS) was an Air Defense Command (ADC) tenant unit based at Travis Air Force Base, California.
On 22 October 1962, before President John F. Kennedy told Americans that Soviet ballistic missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles to Siskiyou County Airport at the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, before the crisis was over, on 26 October, the planes returned to Travis AFB because of overcrowding at Siskiyou.
...
Wikipedia