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A Limited editionprint paying tribute to the F-16 Vipers of the USAF
VIPER VENOMBy Robert Taylor
Pilots from the 31st (nearest) and 52nd Air Expeditionary Wings,Climb their heavily armed F-16 Vipers out of Aviano AirBase, Italy, on a strike mission over Bosnia, June 1999
The date: May 31, Memorial Day 1999. Lt Col Dave “Fingers” Goldfein checked in as Mission Commander and Forward Air Controller (FAC) for the three hour Kosovo Engagement Zone (KEZ) period. The target, Serbian fielded forces on the move in southern Kosovo in the Mount Pastrik area. Words passed through airborne command and control were to stop the ground offensive taking place in the villages below. The Kosovo Liberation Army had launched an attack on Serbian forces that had turned ugly and they were in full retreat to the hills to the south.
The objective – stop the Serbs and cover the KLA. Immediately, a plan to maximize offensive firepower was put into action. The second set of FACs, led by Capt “Boomer” Ross from the 510th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (EFS), headed to the tanker so they could rotate in and keep the iron flowing. The F-16CJ force protection SEAD assets from the 23rd EFS at Spangdahlem, with their load of high-speed anti-radiation (HARM) missiles, re-positioned their orbit in order to provide complete coverage of the target area. Fighters checked in, ready for guidance from the FAC. Verifying the location of the enemy with his maps of the area and looking in his infrared targeting pod, “Fingers” rolled in for the first mark with his “willie pete” White Phosphorus rockets. Bracketing the area below, the first set of fighters, F-16s from Aviano AB, saw the marks and set up for their attack. For the next several hours and into the night, fighter after fighter checked in and was sequenced into the target. It was a good day to be a NATO airman and a bad day to be Serbian ground troops.
Carefully researched during visits to Aviano, and with the advantage of first hand advice from its operational F-16 pilots, artist Robert Taylor was able to produce a magnificent study of what many believe to be the most beautiful of all modern combat jet fighters.
THE SIGNATURES
This powerful print is individually numbered and personallysigned by the artist Robert Taylor along with two outstanding F-16 fighterleaders, both of whom flew in combat during Operation Desert Storm and AlliedForce:
Major General MICHAEL R. BOERA
General DAVID L. GOLDFEIN (Chief of Staff of the U.S. AirForce)
Please note:The prints in my store are hand-signed by the veterans involved in thepainting so the signatures are original autographs and not reproductions.The certificate of authenticity is included.CONDITION:My items are guaranteed to be in perfectcondition, any issues are clearly detailed in the description.
SHIPPING:As a former aviation art retailer I have shipped countless prints overthe years. My prints are rolled in acid free tissue and shipped in heavy dutytubes, and the shipping isinsured andguaranteed.
Ifyou are interested in more than one item I will always do my best to combinethe shipping to save costs – please just ask.
