The 93rd Fighter Squadron (the “Makos”), operating out of Homestead Air Reserve Station, flies and maintains the F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft. Inactivated during the post-war 1950s, the 93rd Fighter Squadron was reactivated in October 1978 at then Homestead Air Force Base, flying F-4C Phantom II fighter aircraft. Now flying the F-16C model, these planes can be identified by the letters “FM” for “Florida Makos.”

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations.

In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions.