page_title: 159th Fighter Squadron
section_title: The 1970s to the present
hierarchical_section_title: 159th Fighter Squadron / History / Florida Air National Guard / The 1970s to the present
context_page_description: The 159th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Florida Air National Guard's 125th Fighter Wing located at Jacksonville International Airport, Florida. The 159th is equipped with the F-15C and F-15D Eagle.
context_section_description: In 1974, the 125th Fighter Interceptor Group converted from the F-102 Delta Dagger to the F-106 Delta Dart. By the end of the year, with the conversion complete and the F-106 formally integrated into the 125 FIG weapons inventory, alert status resumed at Jacksonville International Airport. Pilots and ground-crew members received extensive training in the operations and maintenance of the new aircraft and they soon gained the expertise needed to handle the sophisticated all-weather supersonic fighter-interceptor. Concurrent operation of the T-33 Shooting Star also continued, functioning as a simulated target aircraft for intercept training and for other pilot proficiency training.
  In October 1979, in anticipation of the inactivation of Aerospace Defense Command, the USAF gained command responsibilities which shifted to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and a sub-organization equivalent to a numbered air force designated as Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC). In 1985, ADTAC was redesignated as the 1st Air Force (1 AF) and remained the numbered air force for all Air National Guard fighter units.
  The 159th Fighter Interceptor Squadron flew the F-106 Delta Dart for 12 years, but by the end of 1986, the US Air Force began to phase out the F-106, converting Regular Air Force units flying the Delta Dart to the F-15 Eagle and most Air National Guard F-106 units to the F-4 Phantom II. However, it was determined that the multipurpose F-4 was not the ideal fighter for the continental air defense mission and the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau decided to transition the 159 FIS and 125 FIG to the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
  In January 1987, the unit converted to the F-16A, followed by a small number of additional twin-seat F-16Bs. On 1 April 1987, the 159 FIS became the first F-16 unit to sit alert in an Air Defense role as a fighter interceptor unit on a 24/7/365 basis. This conversion also marked the 11th fighter aircraft conversion for the unit. Following avionics upgrades tailored for the Air Defense mission, these aircraft would become known as the F-16ADF.
  In June 1992, after the inactivation of Tactical Air Command, the 159 FIS was once again redesignated as the 159th Fighter Squadron (159 FS). The 125 FIG was concurrently redesignated as the 125th Fighter Group (125 FG) and both organizations operationally-gained by the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC).
  In 1995, the 159th Fighter Squadron converted from the F-16ADF to the A and B versions of the F-15 Eagle as its primary fighter aircraft. That same year, the parent unit for the 159 FS, the 125 FG, was redesignated the 125th Fighter Wing (125 FW), placing the unit on a par organizationally with Regular US Air Force fighter units. Five years after the conversion to the F-15, Fighter Data Link (FDL) technology was incorporated into the F-15, allowing the pilots to link flight data with multiple users, providing realtime information on air and ground threats. The 159th continued to incorporate newer technology in its 1970s era F-15As and F-15Bs under the F-15 Multistage Improvement Program (F-15 MSIP), such as the upgrade to 220E model engines.
  During the late 1990s, the 159 FS was also fully integrated into the USAF Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF) and routinely deployed aircraft and personnel to the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base, Al Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH, enforcing the No-Fly Zone over southern Iraq. Since 11 September 2001, the squadron has been extensively involved in Operation NOBLE EAGLE, performing its historic continental air defense mission in the southeastern United States, as well as continuing to deploy aircraft and personnel to U.S. Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF), now known as U.S. Air Forces Central (USAFCENT), in Southwest Asia in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.
  In 2006, the 159 FS replaced its previous F-15A/B Eagle (MSIP) aircraft with its current F-15C and F-15D variants.
  In 2015, the 159 FS (redesignated the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squ
caption: 159th FIS F-106 and TF-106 Delta Darts
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