HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The 388th Fighter Wing’s 421st Fighter Squadron was recently named the top fighter squadron in the Air Force for 2023.
Awarded annually, the Air Force’s “Raytheon Trophy” competition judges fighter units across the service to determine which delivered the most air dominance.
The “Black Widows” are both the first F-35 squadron and first Hill AFB squadron to ever bring home the trophy.
“Looking back, I’m proud we survived an intense and extremely challenging year as we were called to multiple events around the world,” said Lt. Col. Nathan Heguy, 421st FS commander. “It is a testament to the professional capability and resilience of our aviators, maintainers, and support personnel.”
To earn the trophy, squadrons are measured by mission set, inspection results, exercise participation, squadron achievements and individual achievements.
“The trophy is difficult to win, and the fact that the Widows brought it to Hill is a testament to them and our entire team,” said Col. Michael Gette, 388th Fighter Wing commander. “It’s a huge deal, and it takes everyone in the 421st Fighter Squadron, Fighter Generation Squadron, Operations Support Squadron, Logistics Support Squadron, Maintenance Squadron and Munitions Squadron to make it happen.”
In 2023, the 421st FS were sent on two, no-notice deployments. While in U.S. Central Command, they deterred Russian and Iranian aggression, and flew more than 2,300 hours of defensive counter-air and close air support missions.
They were also deployed quickly to the European Theater on the first ‘extreme risk’ combat mission for the F-35A. The 421st Fighter Generation Squadron maintainers were able to provide armed, fully mission capable F-35s within a very short time of the initial tasking. Pilots were prepped and ready to “operate in a highly contested environment.”
The squadron also provided ‘pop-up’ support for Operation NOBLE EAGLE and NOBLE DEFENDER missions.
All this while balancing the ‘normal’ ops tempo of an Air Force fighter squadron: multiple large-force exercises, weapons system evaluations, dozens of training upgrades, contributing to the refinement of F-35 tactics.
“We want to congratulate the Widows – earning this trophy by exemplifying what the 388th Fighter Wing is all about – delivering F-35 dominance anytime, anywhere,” Gette said.