"Sting of the Black Viper" by Rick Herter. On February 28, 1994, two F-16Cs were performing an offensive counter air mission over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The flight, call sign "Black 03," was from the 526th Fighter Squadron "Black Knights" part of the 86th Fighter Wing based at Ramstein AB, Germany, and deployed to Aviano, Italy, for participation in Operation Deny Flight. Captain Bob Wright and his wingman were enroute to a tanker, when a NATO AWACS vectored the flight to investigate unidentified bogies to the north. After a vertical to stern conversion, radar and visual identification was made on six Bosnian Serb J-1 Jastreb attack aircraft. The F-16s, along with the AWACS, issued radio warnings but wer out of AIM-9 sidewinder range. Capt. Wright selected an AIM-120A AMRAAM and targeted the trailing single ship which was hit and immediately disintegrated. The remaining bogies descended to tree-top level in an effort to escape the pursuing Falcons. Wright closed on the next target and dispatched the bogie with an AIM-9. After the second kill, Wright was within guns range but a village lay in his line of fire. Fearing damage to the village, he maneuvered the aircraft back into Sidewinder range, passed over the village and downed his third kill. "Black -3" flight disengaged due to low fuel and was replaced by another pair of Falcons from the same squadron. The new flight leader shot down the fourth Jastreb, a first "triple kill" on a single mission since the Korean War.
 

Page created by:
Patrick Mahon
Vero Beach Fl
dawg@gate.net

A good page about the "Fighting Falcon" F-16
http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/events/perform/tb/f16.html

Info on the J-1 Jastreb and other foreign aircraft -- yes folks they were outclassed!

click here.

http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/gustin_military/oth_J.html

pau