US Airmen flying four F-16 Fighting Falcons, two F-22 Raptors, and one C-130 Hercules arrived at Lask AB, Poland, on 31 August 2015. The F-16s, from the 480th Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, and 176th FS, the Wisconsin Air National Guard unit at Madison, will participate in Aviation Detachment Rotation 15-4 at Lask. While not part of the rotation, the F-22s and their respective support Airmen from the 95th FS at Tyndall AFB, Florida, briefly visited the base near Lodz for familiarization within European airspace. This forward deployment of the Raptors to Spangdahlem from the US on 28 August serves as part of the inaugural F-22 training deployment to Europe and is funded by the European Reassurance Initiative, which provides support to bolster the security of NATO Allies and US partners in Europe.
