The US Navy’s Tactical Support Wing (TSW), headquartered at Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Fort Worth, has recently welcomed an F-16 Fighting Falcon to its fleet.
It marks a significant upgrade for the Navy Reserve’s first F-16 squadron, Fighter Squadron Composite (VFC)-13, based in Fallon, Nevada.
According to the Navy, this acquisition aims to modernize the Navy’s adversary squadrons, enhancing their ability to train active-duty forces against current and evolving threats.
Interestingly, the F-16 that the TSW has received is a US Air Force retired Falcon.
Replacing retired with retired
This endeavor of TSW acquiring F-16s has been in the works since 2009.
However, in recent years, the decision to retire the F-18A/B/C/D Legacy Hornets earlier than planned hastened the requisition of the F-16s.
“With only 12 Super Hornets available to replace approximately 48 Legacy Hornets, we had to explore alternatives like the F-16,” said Executive Officer of VFC-13 Cmdr. Traver Fordham.
“New build F-16s were too costly and time consuming, so we looked at second-hand options.”
Amidst difficulties in acquiring aircraft from Greece, TSW seized an opportunity with the Air Force’s decision to retire their fleet of F-16s, resulting in a transfer agreement for 30 aircraft.
“After encountering issues with buying from Greece, we capitalized on the Air Force’s plan to retire over 30 F-16s with 2,000 to 3,000 flight hours remaining,” said Fordham.
In March, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias officially announced that the sale of older F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighters is planned as part of the “biggest reform program in the history of the modern Greek state.”
In July, the media reported that the United States would purchase F-16 fighters from Greece and transfer them to Ukraine. However, that scenario will not come to fruition.
“This led to a successful transfer agreement, and the first of these 26 F-16s, 12 of which went to VFC-13, was delivered to NAS Fallon back in April 2022, with plans to receive a total of 30.”
New challenges
Introducing the F-16 into the fleet has presented its fair share of challenges within the US Navy, from training pilots to establishing maintenance programs, support depots, and training personnel.
“There are always challenges when transitioning a squadron to a new platform,” said TSW Safety Officer Cmdr. David Radomile.
“In this case, we had to transition two squadrons and retrain 30 pilots, which required significant coordination and a year of effort. We also had to procure a new F-16 simulator and move our F-5 simulator to New Orleans. Another major challenge was establishing the Viper Maintenance Group (VMG), a new joint maintenance element for VFC-13 and Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC). This involved developing a coordinated approach for aircraft sharing, mishap reporting, and maintenance inspections.”
In 2023, VFC-13 completed its first Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program (SFARP) exclusively with F-16s and was declared safe for flight.
With the addition of the newest F-16, TSW’s fleet now totals 13 aircraft, which enhances its capacity to train naval aviators and improves warfighting capabilities.
NAS JRB Fort Worth is the first and finest joint reserve base. It is known for training and equipping air crews and aviation ground support personnel and supporting missions such as airlift, aerial refueling, and global mobility, making it an integral part of national defense infrastructure.
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