302d and 303d flew the RF-80A Shooting Star for day reconnaissance. On 25 June 1953, the 66 TRW departed Shaw, being reassigned to Sembach Air Base, West Germany. Just prior to the wing's deployment to NATO, the 303 TRS was reequipped with RF-80As. 363d Fighter Wing By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary. The aging and phaseout of the 1960s-era RF-4C aircraft fleet and the utility of the Lockheed TR-1 in Europe for tactical reconnaissance led to the decision by the USAF to realign the mission of the 363rd TRW. The reconnaissance training mission of the wing was terminated in 1981 and beginning in 1982, the wing would become 363d Tactical Fighter Wing (363d TFW), being equipped with General Dynamics F-16 fighter aircraft. On 1 October 1981, the 363 TRW was re-designated . The 363 TFW received its first F-16 on 26 March 1982. The 363 TFW flew F-16A/B Block 10 aircraft until 1984 then converted to Block 15s; F-16C/D Block 25s in autumn 1985 and Block 42s in late 1991. All aircraft carried the "SW" Tail Code. On 9 August 1990, the 17 TFS and 33 TFS of 363 TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield. Operating from Al Dhafra Air Base as the 363d Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), along with the 10 TFS from the 50 TFW, Hahn Air Base, Germany. The wing flew combat missions to Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm between 17 January and 28 February 1991. Following Desert Storm, the 19th and 33d Tactical Fighter Squadrons deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition effort to enforce the Iraqi No-fly zone south of the 32nd parallel north. The 33 TFS made history when one of its pilots downed an Iraqi aircraft with an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. The incident marked the first time an AIM-120 was fired in combat and was the first U.S. F-16 air-to-air kill. With the closure of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base South Carolina and the inactivation of the 354th Fighter Wing, the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated at Shaw and received 30 Republic A/OA-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the inactivating 355th Fighter Squadron on 1 April 1992. All A-10 aircraft with the 21 TFS were designated as OA-10A. As a result of the