Canada’s newly reborn CF-18 fighter squadron conducted its first operational fight since reactivating on 30 June.
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) announced on Facebook that the 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Cold Lake, Alberta, took to the skies 20 July, marking the unit’s first operational flight since disbanding in 1996.
The squadron previously flew the CH-136 Kiowa helicopter out of Saint-Hubert, Quebec, and has now switched to fighters to bolster Canadian support for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Its reactivation means Canada now has two operational fighter squadrons at the Cold Lake in central Canada [hah!] and two nearer to the east coast [bit better] at Bagotville air base in Quebec...
Canada’s currently has 64 active McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornets that were introduced in the 1980s, according to Flightglobal’s MiliCAS database. An ongoing modernisation programme is expected to keep the CF-18 flying through 2025 until another fighter takes its place...
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/canada39s-reactivated-cf-18-39rams39-squadron-takes-415001/