The 31st 'Tiger' Squadron is a strike-fighter

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

in the

Air Component The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne bel ...

of the

Belgian Armed Forces The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became indepen ...

. It is part of the 10th Tactical Wing and operates

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

s. They use a tiger as their squadron emblem.

History

The 31st Tiger Squadron starts with its history on 1 October 1951, when it was founded as a part of the exhibition together with the 23rd and 27th squadron during the 10th Tactical Wing at

Beauvechain Air Base Beauvechain Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield in Belgium, located south of Beauvechain in Wallonia (Walloon Brabant Province); east-southeast of Brussels. It is home to the 1st Wing, operating A109BA helicopters, and the ...

. After that the team of the 10th Tactical Wing transferred their airbase at

Chièvres Chièvres (; pcd, Chieve) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Chièvres had a total population of 6,899. The total area is 46.91 km² which gives a population density of 15 ...

. There, a first flight was executed for the 31st Tiger Squadron and was registered as the legendary World War II Spitfire MK XIV on 4 January 1952. The squadron became a member of the

NATO Tiger Association The NATO Tiger Association or the Association of Tiger Squadrons was established in 1961. Promoted by French Defence minister Pierre Messmer, its role is to promote solidarity between NATO air forces. It is not, though, part of the formal NA ...

and attended the 2nd Tiger Meet in 1962. They then hosted the following year's event at their home airbase of

Kleine Brogel Air Base Kleine Brogel Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield located east of Kleine-Brogel, in the municipality Peer, Belgium. It is home to the Belgian 10th Tactical Wing, operating F-16 Fighting Falcons, which are capable, among other ...

in 1963.NTM-1963
,

They remain one of the association's longest-standing members. In June 2005, during the operation "Eastern Eagle" with the collaboration of

Kabul International Airport , nativename-r = , image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg , caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012 , IATA = KBL , ICAO = OAKB , ...

, the 31st Tiger Squadron with four

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

s flew numerous mission over

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

with the support of ISAF troops.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Fighter Squadron, 31 Military units and formations established in 1951 1951 establishments in Belgium