Media related to 527th Aggressor Squadron at Wikimedia Commons
In April 1976, the squadron was reactivated at RAF Alconbury, England as the 527th Tactical Fighter Training and Aggressor Squadron, becoming the United States Air Forces in Europe's only aggressor squadron.
 The 527th began providing aggressor support to European-based combat units in September.
 Its mission was to train United States Air Forces Europe fighter pilots for air combat with Eastern bloc adversaries using "Dissimilar Air Combat Training" (DACT)
The squadron was equipped with the Northrop F-5E Tiger II, being originally part of an order of aircraft destined for South Vietnam.
The first batch of eight aircraft were air-freighted into Alconbury on 21 May 1976 on board a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy direct from the production facility at Palmdale, California.
Eight more Tigers arrived on 14 June with the final batch of four following ten days later, on 24 June.
These aircraft were also airfreighted on board a C-5A. The 527th was fully operational a few months later with the first DACT course commencing in October 1976
The aggressor F-5Es were painted in a variety of colourful camouflage schemes designed to mimic those in use by Warsaw Pact aircraft.
Two-digit Soviet-style nose codes were applied to most aggressor aircraft.
These coincided with the last two digits of the serial number.
When there was duplication, three digits were used.

International conventions made it necessary for military aircraft to carry their national insignia, but the star-and-bar national insignia was reduced in size and relocated to a less-conspicuous position on the rear fuselage.
The 527th's Aggressor aircraft were among the first to apply the star and bar in toned-down or stencil form, now standard on USAF aircraft.

The 527th Aggressors flew their aircraft in intense turns and other maneuvers as their mission involved intense combat fighter training, often involving high-G turns at supersonic speeds.
  The Aggressors trained both United States Air Force squadrons in Soviet fighter tactics, but deployed frequently to other NATO airfields, training pilots from Norway to Greece and Turkey,  France, West Germany and the Low Countries in combat tactics.

After 12 years of intense flying, in 1988 the fleet of aggressor F-5Es were getting rather worn out as a result of sustained exposure to the rigours of air combat manoeuvring.
There were restrictions placed on operations in which pilots were warned not to exceed a certain G-load.
Some repair kits had to be devised to overcome these problems, and the estimated cost of repair of the entire fleet was beginning to exceed a billion dollars.
In addition, with the appearance of a new generation of Soviet fighters, it became apparent that F-5Es could no longer adequately mimic Warsaw Pact threats.

It was decided to re-equip the squadron with General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcons  and move the squadron to RAF Bentwaters.
In return, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II's at Bentwaters would move to Alconbury and give the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing a new close air support mission.

After the 527th was reassigned, eight of the lowest-hour F-5E's were transferred to the Navy for Top Gun/Aggressor training at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California in July 1988.
The remainder were sent to storage at RAF Kemble for refurbishing.
From there they were sold under the foreign military assistance program to Morocco and Tunisia in October 1989.
One F-5E was thought to be retained at Alconbury for static display as a gate guard.
In reality this is a plastic/fiberglass model with an authentic windscreen and canopy.

The 527th flew its last F-5E sortie from Alconbury on 22 June 1988 and personnel and equipment was moved to RAF Bentwaters.
  The first two of an intended complement of eighteen F-16Cs arrived at Bentwaters on 14 June 1988.
These were single examples taken from the 52d Tactical Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ramstein Air Base.
The first four months at Bentwaters were dedicated t
Media related to 527th Aggressor Squadron at Wikimedia Commons
In April 1976, the squadron was reactivated at RAF Alconbury, England as the 527th Tactical Fighter Training and Aggressor Squadron, becoming the United States Air Forces in Europe's only aggressor squadron.  The 527th began providing aggressor support to European-based combat units in September.  Its mission was to train United States Air Forces Europe fighter pilots for air combat with Eastern bloc adversaries using "Dissimilar Air Combat Training" (DACT)
The squadron was equipped with the Northrop F-5E Tiger II, being originally part of an order of aircraft destined for South Vietnam. The first batch of eight aircraft were air-freighted into Alconbury on 21 May 1976 on board a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy direct from the production facility at Palmdale, California. Eight more Tigers arrived on 14 June with the final batch of four following ten days later, on 24 June. These aircraft were also airfreighted on board a C-5A. The 527th was fully operational a few months later with the first DACT course commencing in October 1976
The aggressor F-5Es were painted in a variety of colourful camouflage schemes designed to mimic those in use by Warsaw Pact aircraft. Two-digit Soviet-style nose codes were applied to most aggressor aircraft. These coincided with the last two digits of the serial number. When there was duplication, three digits were used.
International conventions made it necessary for military aircraft to carry their national insignia, but the star-and-bar national insignia was reduced in size and relocated to a less-conspicuous position on the rear fuselage. The 527th's Aggressor aircraft were among the first to apply the star and bar in toned-down or stencil form, now standard on USAF aircraft.
The 527th Aggressors flew their aircraft in intense turns and other maneuvers as their mission involved intense combat fighter training, often involving high-G turns at supersonic speeds.   The Aggressors trained both United States Air Force squadrons in Soviet fighter tactics, but deployed frequently to other NATO airfields, training pilots from Norway to Greece and Turkey,  France, West Germany and the Low Countries in combat tactics.
After 12 years of intense flying, in 1988 the fleet of aggressor F-5Es were getting rather worn out as a result of sustained exposure to the rigours of air combat manoeuvring. There were restrictions placed on operations in which pilots were warned not to exceed a certain G-load. Some repair kits had to be devised to overcome these problems, and the estimated cost of repair of the entire fleet was beginning to exceed a billion dollars. In addition, with the appearance of a new generation of Soviet fighters, it became apparent that F-5Es could no longer adequately mimic Warsaw Pact threats.
It was decided to re-equip the squadron with General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcons  and move the squadron to RAF Bentwaters. In return, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II's at Bentwaters would move to Alconbury and give the 10th Tactical Fighter Wing a new close air support mission.
After the 527th was reassigned, eight of the lowest-hour F-5E's were transferred to the Navy for Top Gun/Aggressor training at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California in July 1988. The remainder were sent to storage at RAF Kemble for refurbishing. From there they were sold under the foreign military assistance program to Morocco and Tunisia in October 1989. One F-5E was thought to be retained at Alconbury for static display as a gate guard. In reality this is a plastic/fiberglass model with an authentic windscreen and canopy.
The 527th flew its last F-5E sortie from Alconbury on 22 June 1988 and personnel and equipment was moved to RAF Bentwaters.   The first two of an intended complement of eighteen F-16Cs arrived at Bentwaters on 14 June 1988. These were single examples taken from the 52d Tactical Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, West Germany and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ramstein Air Base. The first four months at Bentwaters were dedicated t
527th Space Aggressor Squadron