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The history book of F-16 service added another chapter with another nation when Portugal acquired the Fighting Falcon. Along with the distinction of becoming the latest European air force to advance to the F-16, the Força Aérea Portuguesa, the Portuguese Air Force, became the newest F-16 operator in NATO. The arrival of the first four F-16s in July 1994 signaled the successful completion of years of negotiations between Portugal and the United States. The Portuguese F-16s reside with Esquadra de Caça 201 at Base Aérea Monte Real in the heart of Portugal near the Atlantic coast. The fighter squadron is the first and only operator of the F-16 in Portugal. The 201st already fills a vital role as the only dedicated air defense unit in the FAP. Acquiring F-16s also initiated Portugal's high expectations of reestablishing a genuine air defense capability.

Portugal's quest for air defense began in December 1988 when a visiting US delegation offered the F-16 as a foreign military sales provision to guarantee US presence at Lajes airfield in the Azores archipelago. The project was designated Peace Atlantis.

"Initially, we were offered twenty ex-USAF Block 10 F-16A/B aircraft," says Maj. Gen. José Armando Vizela Cardoso, head of the F-16 project office, "but these aircraft did not correspond to our requirements." Portugal needed a dedicated air defense capability over the so-called Portuguese strategic triangle: continental Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira archipelagos in the Atlantic. An air defense fighter for this scenario called for a long-range communications capability, improved aircraft identification systems, and a beyond visual range missile provision-in all, a configuration almost identical to the Block 15 air defense F-16 flown by the Air National Guard.

A Block 15 ADF-like configuration varies significantly from the baseline Block 15 aircraft. The avionics suite includes Have Quick II UHF and AN/ARC-200 HF/SSB radios; the AN/APX-101 IFF system; a ring laser gyro INS; and the upgraded AN/APG-66(V)1 radar with a continuous-wave illumination compatible with the AIM-120 AMRAAM. FAP F-16s are fitted with the AN/ALR-69 RWR, AN/ALE-40 chaff/flare dispensers, night identification light, and a wide-angle conventional head-up display. It is also powered by the F100-PW-220E engine.

"In the end, the Block 10 aircraft would have been more expensive than new Block 15 OCUs," Vizela points out. "The PW-200 engines on the Block 10 jets would have required modified modules that would have delayed the deliveries." Purchasing new Block 15 OCUs outright appeared a more cost-effective choice. As a result, a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the sale of seventeen Block 15 OCU F-16A and three F-16B aircraft was signed in August 1990, and the Peace Atlantis program was born.

Peace Atlantis is part of a wider FAP program to modernize the Portuguese air defense systems and infrastructure. Sistema de Comando e Controlo Aéreo de Portuga, or SICCAP as the overall program is called, consists of modernizing the FAP operations center, the Comando Operacional da Força Aérea, and the FAP radar and ground control stations by introducing new sensors and datalink communications that integrate with NATO.

Before the first Portuguese F-16 touched down at Monte Real, the base infrastructure was prepared and a squadron was formed to receive the new jets. On 4 October 1993, Fighter Squadron 201 was reactivated to become the first genuine air defense squadron in Portugal in many years. Fourteen years previous, the squadron retired its last seven vintage North American F-86F Sabres and then disbanded. The old Sabres had defended the country since 1958 and had formed the only dedicated air defense air asset of the FAP. In addition to its legacy as an exclusive air defense squadron, Squadron 201's long-time tradition as Falcões, or Falcons, made its revival to receive the F-16 Fighting Falcons very appropriate indeed.

In anticipation of the F-16, the first group of six pilots - all with at least 1,000 hours in jet fighters - were dispatched to Tucson, Arizona, in January 1994 for a six-month F-16 conversion with the international military training segment of the Arizona ANG 162nd Fighter Group. A few weeks later, the first two aircraft were formally handed over to the FAP. However, these aircraft stayed in Fort Worth until September 1994 to enable a group of eighty FAP technicians to become familiar with the Block 15 OCU systems.

By the time the first FAP F-16s were delivered to Monte Real in July 1994, the first Portuguese pilots trained on the F-16 had also arrived from the US along with a joint Lockheed Martin/USAF support team. Within a few months, all twenty aircraft had been ferried to Monte Real. Meanwhile, base preparations continued, and the first six FAP F-16 pilots prepared for instructor duties by developing a training syllabus along USAF guidelines.

"The USAF training program served as the starting point for our own curriculum," explains Lt. Col. Vitor Francisco, "but we tailored it to our own needs along the way." Francisco commanded Squadron 201 until January 1997. "Due to our squadron mission, we concentrated almost exclusively on air-to-air missions. Previously, the FAP had been much more involved in air-to-ground missions." For this instruction, the squadron brought in an experienced USAF F-16 instructor pilot from Luke AFB.

Pilot ranks in Squadron 201 increased at six-month intervals. Before beginning the flying program, the pilot trainees took a month of academic course work. Then they were sent to the Netherlands for F-16 simulator and centrifuge training with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

As flying operations intensified, so did worries over flight safety. "My main concern was for early accidents," said Francisco. "Since we didn't have much experience on the jet initially, we put our efforts into reducing the probability of making mistakes. Our main approach was to run the courses strictly, trying to anticipate problems as much as we could. We also reviewed safety examples we learned from our F-16 colleagues in NATO."

With a nucleus of experienced pilots in place, the squadron quickly developed an intense pace to prepare for future operational status. Advanced training and operational readiness were emphasized in mid-1995 to bring the squadron to the forefront of NATO air exercises. The F-16s from Squadron 201 frequently participated in full-blown exercises, such as Central Enterprise and Linked Seas. In August 1995, the squadron assumed quick reaction alert duties to provide round-the-clock air defense over Portuguese territory.

Today, Squadron 201 takes young, inexperienced pilots straight out of pilot training and gives them a more introductory training program. "We currently have five young pilots in training without any operational experience," says Maj. Carlos Matela, the present commanding officer of Squadron 201. "To train them, we offer standard USAF B-courses and C-courses. The B-course is designed for pilots with less than 500 hours in combat aircraft," continues Matela, "and it encompasses sixty-seven sorties." Matela is one of the initial group of six F-16 pilots who also instructed most of the squadron's other pilots. Both courses take one semester to complete and include night/instrument flying and aerial refueling. Once the initial training is completed, the pilots start mission qualification training, which consists of twenty defensive counter-air sorties.

Squadron 201 is twenty-two pilots strong with four more pilots arriving shortly. The final staffing target of thirty pilots is dictated by NATO. Once the squadron meets that number, it is eligible for assignment to NATO Immediate Reaction Forces. IRF calls for a pilot-to-aircraft ratio of one and one-half to one. The squadron plans to fill all pilot slots in 1999, at which time it will attain NATO combat-ready status.

In addition to the staffing requirement, Squadron 201 must meet the IRF mobility requirements of being able to deploy to a remote location and to project its combat capability within a few days time. Although such full-scale mobility is still some way down the road, Squadron 201 began reorganizing in 1996 to become more autonomous.

In essence, the reorganization integrated maintenance within the flying squadron. This autonomy is necessary for deployments and for efficient maintenance and operations in the day-to-day functions at Monte Real. Initially, only first-line maintenance was performed within the flying squadron itself; second-line maintenance was performed by the central maintenance group at Monte Real. In 1996, all F-16 related maintenance components were concentrated in one single F-16 maintenance squadron, which was housed in a facility right next to the F-16 ramp. As a result, maintenance and operations have established a smoother work flow.

The next step was to integrate the maintenance squadron within the flying squadron. "A very challenging and time-consuming task," admits Matela. When completed in late 1997, the total staffing of Squadron 201 reached 170. The squadron tested its new organizational concept and mobilization plan in early 1997 with a training deployment to Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago.

The basic mission of the squadron also changed. To prepare for a broad range of contingencies, the FAP enlarged the squadron's mission by shifting to more air-to-ground scenarios. Thus, Squadron 201 will develop as a full swing-role squadron, a concept that proved itself in air operations over Bosnia. Once the squadron masters air-to-ground operations, the FAP will present it to NATO's AFSouth. The 201st will then be deployed to Italy to participate in Operation Joint Endeavor, the air component of the peace-keeping operation in Bosnia.

For the squadron, the new mission meant requalifying pilots for the air-to-ground role in a relatively short time. For the pilots who had already qualified in the F-16 air-to-air role, the new mission meant retaking the B-course to learn air-to-ground basics with the F-16. At present, most pilots have re-qualified for the new mission, including the five new pilots who went through the B-course training modified to include air-to-ground.

Maj. Mário Barreto, the squadron's operations officer, with over 900 air-to-ground hours in the A-7P Corsair II, offers his assessment on the 201's swing role. "Ever since our involvement in Bosnia, we've been working on our new swing-role mission," he says. "That is, a combination of clear weather intercept, close air support, and battlefield air interdiction. We're focusing in particular on CAS missions with airborne forward air controllers. We train for these missions with Alouette III helicopters delivering low-threat Mk-82s, Mk-84s, and Mavericks. If Squadron 201 participates in Joint Endeavor, it will most likely deploy a six-aircraft detachment to Aviano Air Base in northern Italy. The deployment to Italy will make 1998 a stellar year for the 201st because the squadron is also making its debut with six F-16s at Red Flag in August.

In the meantime, the FAP has decided to put its twenty F-16s through the Mid-Life Update program along with F-16s from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. Portugal's participation in this NATO upgrade program is expected to begin in 2000, at which time the FAP will also be receiving the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The MLU will bring the F-16s to a standard similar to Block 50 F-16C/D.

The FAP considers the F-16 perfectly suited for its requirements. In fact, it is striving to purchase additional aircraft to replace the aging Corsairs. Although modest in quantity, the F-16s represent a giant step in operational capabilities for the FAP. And they serve a key role in bringing Portugal to the forefront of the European political scene and military theater.

Eric Stijger is an aviation journalist based in the Netherlands.