You are buying a new/unused US Air Force subdued patch (measures 3" tall by 3" wide and is 100% embroidered) from the 49th Fighter Wing, (49 FW) "Tutor Et Ultor" (Latin for "Protect and Avenge"), from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico when the base was home to the F-117A "Nighthawk" from 1992 to 2008.

49th Fighter Wing - F-117A "Nighthawk" Era

"After conversion to the F-117A "Nighthawk" in May 1992, the 49 FW deployed fighters and their crews to Southwest Asia during the 1990s as part of Operation Southern Watch to support United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq, to enforce the "no-fly zone" over the southern part of that country, and for a show of force."

Operation Allied Force

"In early 1999, the wing deployed F-117 and their crews to Aviano Air Base, Italy and Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany from 21 February – 1 July 1999, in support of Operation Allied Force, the NATO attempt to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in the former nation of Yugoslavia. In the opening phase of the operation, aimed primarily at Yugoslavia's integrated air defense system, NATO air forces conducted more than 400 sorties. During the first two night attacks, allied air forces struck 90 targets throughout Yugoslavia and in Kosovo. F-117 Nighthawks from the 8th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron participated in air strikes against targets in the Balkans during NATO operations bravely trusting in their aircraft's low observable technology struck some of the most valuable and highly guarded targets in Serbia. The F-117s successfully penetrated the heavily defended areas, which conventional aircraft could not reach."

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)

"People, airplanes and equipment of the 49 FW (including the 49 OG) played a key role in OIF.  The wing's F-117s played a major role, dropping the first bombs against an Iraqi leadership target in Baghdad on 19 March 2003.  Deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on the opening night of the invasion, fresh intelligence was received that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was staying at a specific bunker for the night.  USAF planners had a rare opportunity to eliminate the elusive Iraqi leader.  It was reasoned that might bring down his regime without war.  The F-117s would carry the new GPS-guided EGBU-27 precision guided bomb.  The problem was it had never been used in combat and the weapons had arrived at Al Udeid a mere 24 hours earlier.

Combat preparation of the fighters began immediately.  The plan called for the F-117s to take off as soon as possible.  Two stealth fighters roared northward into the nighttime sky at 3:38 a.m.  After refueling over the Gulf near Kuwait City, the stealth fighters split up and took separate routes over Iraq to the target area.  The sun was starting to come up by the time the pilots reached Baghdad, however on that morning Baghdad was obscured under low-level clouds.  Each of the two F-117s released two bombs, which plummeted toward the bunker in which Saddam Hussein was believed to be sleeping.  Release came at 5:30 a.m., 13 minutes after dawn but only five hours after the pilots first heard that such a mission might be in the offing.  The strike caught Iraqi defenses completely off guard.  Defensive anti-aircraft fire did not begin until the aircraft had completed the attack and were racing out of the Baghdad area.

Although the strike did not kill Saddam Hussein, what it did accomplish was to allow the coalition to seize the initiative.  Also the EGBU-27 immediately became the F-117’s premier weapon.  According to Air Force data, 98 of them were delivered during the conflict, compared to only 11 of the traditional, predominantly laser versions.  During OIF, F-117 pilots flew more than 80 missions and dropped nearly 100 enhanced guided bomb units against key targets.  Approximately 300 people deployed with the air package and provided direct support to the F-117 mission."

A must have patch for your F-117/F-117A "Nighthawk," Stealth Fighter, 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, Operation Southern Watch, Allied Force, Iraqi Freedom or USAF patch collection! 

Lucky buyer agrees to pay upon purchase and will receive FREE shipping within the U.S. only.

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