Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Those familiar fighters in the skies over central New York are about to make their last deployment for training -- ever.
At about 9:30 Saturday morning, the 174th Fighter Wing will deploy its F-16 jets to a major air war game at a base in Nevada.
They've been a fast-moving fixture in our skies since 1988. The wing has been deployed multiple times in both Gulf Wars and in Afghanistan.
The final scheduled deployment of the F-16s will be a training mission out west. The Fighting Falcons of the 174th will play the role of enemy in a two-week air war game in the skies over Nevada.
The F-16s will go head-to-head against the most modern Air Force fighter, the F-22 Raptor, giving the Raptor pilots and crew the weapons training they need.
“For the aircraft package -- that would be the F-16s -- the pilots as well as the maintenance support personnel, we do not anticipate…a real world deployment. This does represent our last scheduled training deployment,” says Wing Commander Col. Kevin Bradley.
Col. Bradley says next year, the mission changes. The 174th will switch to the unmanned, MQ-9 Reaper. Pilots on the ground at Hancock will fly the Reaper wherever it’s needed, worldwide.
"We never know what world events are going to occur, and we want to make sure we're ready, we're trained, and we're available,” says Col. Bradley.
So keep you eyes to the skies Saturday morning. After the F-16's take to the air for the final deployment, a C-5 Galaxy will be loaded up and on its way with the rest of the airmen and ground crew.
Even though Saturday marks the last deployment for training, the F-16s will remain a familiar sight in the skies over central New York until next March, when the 174th transitions to its new mission with the unmanned Reaper.
