As the USAF’s 95th Reconnaissance Squadron celebrates 105 years since its formation, Luca Chadwick looks at its operations out of RAF Mildenhall in the UK.
Parented by the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron (RS) is the only permanent RC-135 squadron stationed within the European Area of Responsibility. While it has no permanently assigned aircraft, airframes are routinely deployed to RAF Mildenhall, where they are a tenant unit supporting ACC taskings within the European Area Of Responsibility (AOR). The 95th RS supports operations by all the variants of the C-135 operated by ‘Fightin’ 55th’ as they are today tasked with “projecting RC-135 airpower across Europe.”
105 years of the 95th
On August 19, 2022, the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron celebrated its 105th anniversary at RAF Mildenhall. The 95th is one of the USAF’s oldest squadrons, having formed on the August 20, 1917, at Kelly Field in Texas as the 95th Aero Squadron and flying the Nieuport 28 in France.
