This is a list of United States Air Force reconnaissance squadrons. It covers units considered to be part of the Combat Air Force (CAF) such as bomb and fighter squadrons and serves as a break out of the comprehensive List of United States Air Force squadrons. Units in this list are primarily assigned to Air Combat Command in the United States Air Force.
When squadrons are deployed on operations overseas their names are temporarily changed to include the word "expeditionary", although when they return the names revert. However, there are some units which include the word "Expeditionary" all the time; these squadrons are provisional and may activate and inactivate at any time.
Squadron | Shield | Location | Unit | Aircraft | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | Bagram Airfield | MC-12W | Inactivated on 1 October 2014. [1] | ||
46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | S.W. Asia | 387th Air Expeditionary Group | MQ-1 | Previously at Joint Base Balad | |
60th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | Camp Lemonnier | MQ-1B, MQ-9A | Inactivated on 7 October 2015. [2] | ||
62d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | Inactivated. | ||||
361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | Kandahar Airfield | MC-12W | Inactivated on 1 September 2014. [1] | ||
362d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | Joint Base Balad | MC-12W | Inactivated. [1] | ||
363d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | Inactivated. Previously at Prince Sultan Air Base. |
In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military aviation services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group. Each squadron will contain around 20 planes.
The 376th Air Expeditionary Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force. It was last stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic, supporting U.S. and ISAF operations in Afghanistan.
The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The 487th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time. The unit's last known assignment was in 2003 at Cairo West Air Base, Egypt, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The 447th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC) and United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). The unit is currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
The 320th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Bolling AFB, District of Columbia. The 320 AEW may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing was a provisional United States Air Force unit located at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, from 2002 to 2021. It was one of two expeditionary wings in Afghanistan. Most wing personnel were located at the Air Force Village known as Camp Cunningham.
The United States Air Force's 40th Air Expeditionary Wing was an Air expeditionary unit located at Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, from 2002 to c. 2006. The 40 AEW's mission was to support combat forces in Afghanistan and other combat areas supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Operations began in October 2001.
The 484th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. It may be activated or inactivated at any time. It was activated and attached to United States Air Forces Central for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was headquartered at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.
The 387th Air Expeditionary Group(387 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait under United States Air Forces Central Command (USAFCENT). As a provisional unit, it may be activated or inactivated at any time. In 2016, the groups mission was to provide support for base operations, coordination with host nation partners, and administration of the Joint Expeditionary Tasked individual augmentees in the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility.
The 449th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Third Air Force supporting United States Africa Command. It is stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. It flies missions for Africa Command and Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, supporting varied U.S. objectives in the area.
The 175th Wing is a unit of the Maryland Air National Guard, stationed at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland. If activated to federal service, components of the Wing are gained by the two separate major commands of the United States Air Force: Air Combat Command (ACC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).
The 409th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE), which may activate or inactivate the group as needed at any time.
In the United States Marine Corps, the aviation combat element or air combat element (ACE) is the aviation component of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The ACE is task organized to perform the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of MAGTF operations. The ACE is led by an aviation headquarters which employs rotary-wing, tiltrotor, and fixed-wing aircraft in conjunction with command and control, maintenance and engineering units.
The 494th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force group assigned to Air Mobility Command (AMC) to activate or inactivate as needed. The group was activated in the events surrounding Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq. Now-Lieutenant General Stayce D. Harris is listed by the USAF as commanding the 494th AEG at Moron Air Base, Spain, from July to October 2003. In addition, a patch published at USAF Patches.com implies that the group was active in Spain during "Iraqi Freedom."
The 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force (USAF) unit. It is assigned to the 378th Expeditionary Operations Group as part of the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. It has supported combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria from its previous location of Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. The squadron has a varied background, having been formed by a series of consolidations of no fewer than five distinct units.
The 332d Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional air expeditionary group of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, currently active. It was inactivated on 8 May 2012 and reactivated 16 November 2014.
The 466th Air Expeditionary Group of the United States Air Force provides support for airmen at stations across Afghanistan. This includes "joint expeditionary tasking" airmen, airmen whose units are assigned to a headquarters other than the one from United States Air Force during their deployment. It also includes individual augmentees assigned to joint organizations. The 466th has been headquartered at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar since 2014, when it moved from the Transit Center at Manas. The group provides a lifeline, referred to as a "Blue Line' back to the Air Force. Its two squadrons, the 466th and 966th Air Expeditionary Squadrons are still located in Afghanistan.
The United States Air Force's 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group is a provisional unit assigned to United States Air Forces Central to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last active in Al Anbar province, Iraq to provide close-air support to coalition forces in the region with Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. It was composed of deployed aircraft, equipment and personnel from Air Force units around the world.