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There was one thing totally different about one of many U.S. fighters that flew over the Strait of Hormuz this previous week to discourage Iran from seizing oil tankers.
Three inexperienced stars are plainly seen on an F-16, tail 2137, in newly launched Division of Protection images of the plane over the Strait and at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. The F-16 is ahead deployed to CENTCOM from Aviano Air Base, Italy, as a part of the 555th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.
The F-16s are joined by A-10s and U.S. ships are patrolling the world to discourage Iran from seizing industrial vessels, and the Pentagon is sending F-35s, the usBataan amphibious assault ship, and Marines to the region within the coming weeks.
However the kill markings on tail 2137 particularly denote one of the crucial spectacular feats of air fight in current many years: a single-mission triple kill throughout a NATO 1994 mission over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In response to the Air Power, the mission in 1994 was the primary single-mission triple kill by a U.S. Air Power pilot for the reason that Korean Struggle.
“I can verify that the 555 Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (Triple Nickel) has tail 2137, which is the particular F-16 that has 3x Air-to-Air kills over Bosnia,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) spokesman Col. Mike Andrews instructed Air & Area Forces Journal.
![](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2023/07/7923518-1024x614.jpg)
The hat trick of kills passed off February 28, 1994, when then-Capt. Robert Gordon “Wilbur” Wright was flying the plane as a part of Operation Deny Flight, a NATO operation to implement a U.N no-fly zone throughout the battle within the Balkans.
Six Serbian J-21 Jastreb fighters have been noticed attacking a manufacturing unit and two Air Power F-16s of the 526th Fighter Squadron working out of Aviano engaged them in what got here to be generally known as the Banja Luka incident.
A fourth J-21 was shot down the identical day by one other F-16, piloted by Capt. Stephen L. “Yogi” Allen. A fifth Serbian J-21 was misplaced, however the U.S. doesn’t document that as a kill for a U.S. fighter. The incident was the first-ever fight motion in NATO historical past, according to the alliance. Wright downed the planes in minutes utilizing an AIM-120 AMRAAM and two AIM-9 Sidewinders, per the USAF.
![](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/2023/07/7335554-1024x686.jpg)
In historic images launched by the Air Power, tail 2137 beforehand had three kill markings that look like a double-headed eagle, the Serbian coat of arms. However these markings have since been changed by inexperienced stars. “Wilbur” Wright’s son, Air Power Capt. Jett Wright, piloted the identical plane whereas on Lively-Obligation final 12 months, in accordance with Aviano Air Base public affairs.
Having an plane in energetic stock with an air-to-air kill is uncommon within the U.S. army. The final American air-to-air kill of a manned enemy plane was in 2017 over Syria, when a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Tremendous Hornet shot down a Su-22 Syrian fighter the U.S. mentioned was dropping bombs on its Kurdish companions, the Syrian Democratic Forces. At the time, the Pentagon mentioned it was the primary time U.S. pilots shot down a manned plane since 1999.
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