The ability to deploy as an operational force in any Area of Operations (AOR), whether within the national responsibility area or under Cooperative Security agreements (NATO/EU), has been part of the mission of Portugal's national F-16s since the beginning of their operations.
In this way, deployments, whether in training or as part of a Deployed National Force (DNF) on a mission, are part of the genetics of national F-16 operations.
Over the past 30 years of operation, there have been several situations in which the Portuguese F-16s were deployed and operated from other base units, both within national territory and abroad, in training environments or real missions.

The first international deployments for the Portuguese F-16s occurred in 1995 - just one year after their arrival in national territory - during the Central Enterprise 95 exercise. This event also marked their first participation in a NATO event on foreign soil.
The first operational deployment took place in 1998 as part of Operation Determined Falcon, a precursor to what would later become Operation Allied Force a year later, later framed within the Allied response to the armed conflict in Kosovo.