USAF restores three F-16 squadrons in South Korea after Osan experiment

The US Air Force is reorganizing its F-16 force in South Korea under a programme it calls the Fighter Squadron Reset. Aircraft are returning to Kunsan Air Base and a three-squadron structure is being restored.

The move follows the end of the Super Squadron experiment, which temporarily combined F-16 units at Osan Air Base to test whether a larger squadron could improve combat-force generation and operational efficiency. The experiment began in 2024 and ran two year-long phases.

Under the reset, the 36th Fighter Squadron stays at Osan. The 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons move back to Kunsan, the locations they held before the experiment started.

Photographs of the aircraft involved, released on the DVIDS network on 28 September, appear to show a further shift. At least some F-16s assigned to the 35th Fighter Squadron look to be Block 50 aircraft previously assigned to the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa Air Base in Japan.

If confirmed, that would be a notable change for the 35th Fighter Squadron, which has traditionally flown Block 40 aircraft. The service said last year that the Block 50 jets would be permanently assigned to Osan, without specifying which unit would receive them.