Asquadron in anair force, ornaval orarmy aviation service, is aunit comprising a number ofmilitary aircraft and theiraircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or fourflights, depending on aircraft type and air force.[1]
In most armed forces, two or more squadrons will form agroup or awing. Some military forces (including theUnited States Air Force,United States Space Force,French Air and Space Force,Royal Air Force,German Air Force,Royal Netherlands Air Force,Belgian Air Component andRepublic of Singapore Air Force) also use the term "squadron" for non-flying ground units (e.g. radar squadrons, missile squadrons, air defense squadrons, aircraft maintenance squadrons, security forces squadrons, civil engineering squadrons, range operations squadrons, range management squadrons, weather squadrons, medical squadrons, etc.).
| Size group[2] | British and USN | USAF and USMC | USSF | Canadian[3] | French AAE | German Air Force | Italian Air Force | NATO rank level[2] ofgeneral or commanding officer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air division (no longer used) | Air division Division aérienne | Luftwaffendivision (no longer used) | Divisione aerea | OF-7 | |||||||
| Group | Wing | Delta (OF-5) | Group[4] Groupe aérien (no longer used) | Brigade Aérienne | Brigata aerea | OF-5, orOF-6 | |||||
| Wing | Group | Wing Escadre | Escadre | Geschwader[5] (OF-5) | Stormo | OF-4,OF-5, orOF-6 | |||||
| Squadron | Squadron | Squadron (OF-4) | Squadron Escadron | Escadron | Gruppe (OF-4) | Gruppo | OF-3 orOF-4 | ||||
| Flight | Flight | Flight Escadrille | Escadrille | Staffel[5] (OF-3) | Squadriglia | OF-2 orOF-3 | |||||
| Flight | Element/Section | Section | Section | Schwarm[5] /Kette | sezione | OF-1 orOF-2 |
In World War I, the Imperial German Army used the term Squadron (staffel), whereas the Austro-Hungarian armed forces and the Swiss Army used the termcompany. In the modernGerman Air Force, a flyingstaffel is a battalion-equivalent, while a ground based supportstaffel is a company-equivalent. One such example are the air base defence units, which are squadrons (German, plural:Staffeln) formed into battalions. The ground based missile air defence units are also company- (in this casebattery-)equivalent squadrons (staffeln).
TheSwedish Air Force adopted naval-like traditions in its formative years and for that historical reason calls its squadronsdivisions (plural:divisioner). They are grouped intoair flotillas (plural:flygflottiljer). During the Cold War the Swedish Army, Navy and Air Force each had their own integral helicopter arms. After the end of it in line with the mid-90s force reduction and reforms they were fused into theSwedish Armed Forces Helicopter Wing as a service, independent from the three main armed forces branches.[6] The Helicopter Wing adopted the termskvadron from the former Swedish Army Aviation for its units, which is squadron in its army company-equivalent meaning. In the early 2000s, the Swedish Air Force absorbed the Helicopter Wing as its fourth combat air wing. Unlike the US Air Force, where the name of the base and the units stationed at that base are not related to each other, the name of the wing (flotilla) is in general considered synonymous with the air base where the unit is stationed. For example, the air base where the F 10 wing is stationed (in Ängelholm) is commonly referred to as F 10 even though it is the name of the tactical unit. In general, this only applies as long as a wing is stationed at the base. Case in point is Uppsala-Ärna air base, an active military airport but since the tactical unit located there has been disbanded it is no longer referred to as F 16. These naming conventions have been inherited from the navy where Swedish military aviation has its roots.
During the infant years of combat aviation inWorld War I and specifically with the trench stalemate at the front military aircraft partially took over the reconnaissance role from the cavalry. With that in mind the BritishRoyal Flying Corps adopted thesquadron nomenclature. After the fusion of theRoyal Flying Corps and theRoyal Naval Air Service into an independentRoyal Air Force, the new armed forces branch introduced its own system of ranks, with the commanders of squadrons becomingsquadron leaders.
The rapid sophistication in technology and combat tactics has led to increased requirements and qualifications of the officers in command positions and the commanders of RAF flying squadrons were upgraded in the post-World War II period from squadron leaders towing commanders. Today RAF flying squadrons arebattalion-equivalents, while combat and combat service support ground squadrons such as communications or administrative squadrons arecompany-equivalents and still usually commanded by squadron leaders.
During the Second World War, a British fighter squadron was a fighting strength of 12 aircraft; this was achieved with about 16 aircraft and 20 pilots assigned to each squadron so the full force could be flown at any time. The squadron was subdivided into twoflights - A and B, and then into sections of two or three aircraft - Red and Yellow, Blue and Green - for operations.[7]
Flying units in theFleet Air Arm andArmy Air Corps are also called squadrons. In the latter they are company-equivalent units, divided into flights and grouped intoregiments.
In theAir Training Corps of the United Kingdom and manyCommonwealth nations, a squadron is a group ofcadets who parade regularly.
In theUnited States Air Force, the squadron is the principal organizational unit.[8] An aggregation of two or more USAF squadrons will be designated as agroup and two or more groups will be designated as awing.[9]
USAF squadrons may be flying units composed of pilots and flight crews, with designations such as fighter squadron, bomb squadron, or airlift squadron. Fighter squadrons may support between 18 and 24 aircraft, while squadrons flying larger aircraft (e.g., bomber, cargo, reconnaissance) may support fewer aircraft. However, non-flying units also exist at the squadron level, such as missile squadrons, aircraft maintenance squadrons, intelligence squadrons, aerospace medicine squadrons, security forces squadrons, civil engineering squadrons and force support squadrons, as well as numerous other examples.[9]
USAF flying squadrons are typically commanded by an aeronautically rated officer in the rank oflieutenant colonel, although some particularly large squadrons, such as the414th Combat Training Squadron that managesRed Flag training atNellis AFB, Nevada will be commanded by an aeronautically rated officer in the rank of fullcolonel.[10] Non-flying squadrons are also usually commanded by an officer in the rank oflieutenant colonel, but some may also be commanded by officers in the rank ofmajor.
In contrast to the organizational structure ofUnited States Air Force units, where flying squadrons are separate from non-flying squadrons tasked with administrative, aircraft maintenance, or other support functions, flying squadrons in naval aviation in the United States (e.g.,United States Navy andUnited States Marine Corps) typically contain both embedded administrative support functions and organizational level aircraft maintenance functions, plus all their associated personnel, as part of the total squadron manning.[11] With few exceptions, oversight of the majority of these non-flying functions is assigned to the squadron'snaval aviators andnaval flight officers as their "ground job" in addition to their regular flying duties.[12]
With few exceptions, most U.S. Navy flying squadrons are commanded by aeronautically designated officers in the rank ofcommander. Exceptions are primarily the Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS), which are often, though not always, commanded by aeronautically designatedcaptains. Commanding officers (COs) of U.S. Navy flying squadrons other than FRS units will be assisted by an executive officer (XO) of the same rank who functions as a second-in-command and who will eventually "fleet up" and relieve the CO as the next CO.[11]
InUnited States Marine Corps Aviation, in addition to flying units that are patterned in similar fashion to their U.S. Navy counterparts, the nomenclature "squadron" in the Marine Corps is also used to designate all battalion-equivalent, aviation support organizations. These squadrons include: wing headquarters, tactical air command, air control, air support, aviation logistics, wing support, and wing communications squadrons. In contrast to their USN counterparts, USMC flying squadrons and aviation support squadrons, while having a commanding officer (CO) at thelieutenant colonel level, may not have an equivalent rank executive officer (XO), but are moving more toward the USN model. USMC aviation (Flying) squadron XO's are aeronautically designated officers in the rank of Lt.Col or Major.
Also in contrast to USAF flying squadrons, most tactical sea-based and land-based U.S. Naval Aviation squadrons (USN and USMC), vice training squadrons and test and evaluation squadrons, usually do not have more than 12 aircraft authorized/assigned at any one time. Exceptions are USN helicopter mine countermeasures squadrons (17 MH-53), USMC "composite" medium tilt-rotor squadrons assigned afloat as the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), (12 MV-22s, 6 AH-1s, 4 CH-53s, 3 UH-1s, and 6 AV-8s). Other squadrons with a large number of Primary Aircraft Assigned (PAA) include Marine heavy helicopter squadrons (16 CH-53s), Marine light/attack helicopter squadrons (18 AH-1s and 9 UH-1s), and Marine attack squadrons (16 AV-8s).
Although part of U.S. naval aviation,United States Coast Guard aviation units are centered on an air station or air facility versus a squadron or group/wing organizational structure. The one exception to this is the Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Squadron (HITRON), which is engaged primarily in counter-narcotics (CN) interdiction operations.[13]
In theUnited States Army Aviation Branch, flying units may be organized in battalions or squadrons (the latter for air cavalry only) reporting to an aviation brigade. Aircraft maintenance activities are typically assigned to an aviation maintenance company or element in the battalion or brigade.[14]
In the U.S.Civil Air Patrol (CAP), a squadron is the basic administrative unit. As the official civilian auxiliary of theU.S. Air Force, CAP follows the USAF organizational model.
Anescadron is the equivalent unit in France'sFrench Air and Space Force (Armée de l'air et de l'espace). It is normally subdivided intoescadrilles of eight aircraft. TheSpanish Air and Space Force and some air forces of otherSpanish-speaking countries follow that tradition (with a squadron called anescuadron and a flight called anescuadrilla), as does theBrazilian Air Force withesquadrão andesquadrilha respectively.
TheRoyal Canadian Air Force and theBelgian Air Component on the other hand useescadrille as the equivalent of a squadron. TheItalian Air Force usesgruppo (group) to denominate its squadrons, as does theChilean Air Force (grupo de aviación). ThePortuguese Air Force (esquadra) and thePolish Air Force (eskadra taktyczna,'tactical squadron') use the term squadron with its etymology originating from thenaval and not thearmy meaning. TheCzech Air Force and theSlovak Air Force use the generic termLetka as the squadron equivalent. TheTurkish Air Force (filo) and theHellenic Air Force (μοιρα αεροπορικής,mira aeroporikis,'aviation squadron') use the squadron denomination originating from the army term. TheRoyal Norwegian Air Force use theskvadron term also originating from the army term. So does theHungarian Air Force withrepülőszázad (Hungarian for 'aircraft squadron' or 'flying squadron'; the cavalry company-equivalent term isszázad).
Many Eastern European countries use the term originating from the French wordescadrille:
TheRoyal Danish Air Force useseskadrille, also originating from the Frenchescadrille.
-_Unspecified_or_Composite_All-Arms_(NATO_APP-6).svg)
