After a dormancy of 13 years, No. 74 (Fighter) Squadron was reformed at RAF Wattisham, Suffolk, on 19 October 1984, with ex-US Navy McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom IIs (designated as the F-4J(UK) in RAF service). These were purchased by the RAF as a stop gap measure to replace those of No. 23 (F) Squadron that had been sent to the Falklands after the war. The 15 F-4Js cost $125 million and underwent a full rework at the Naval Air Rework Facility at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego. Here they received the ability to use the Skyflash air-to-air missile, their radar was upgraded and were brought up to a spec similar to the more definitive F-4S – they were also sprayed in a distinct duck egg blue colour. The F-4J(UK)s were then ferried across the Atlantic in three different batches supported by Vickers VC10s, with the last group arriving on 5 January 1985. Late April and early May 1985 saw "the Tigers" participate in their first major exercise – Exercise Priory, which sought to test UK air defences. July 1985 saw a deployment out to RAF Akrotiri to undergo an Armament Practice Camp (APC) – which also saw them carry out dissimilar air combat training (DACT) with Grumman F-14A Tomcats of VF-41 and VF-84 (from USS "Nimitz"). The squadron's operational capability was declared on 31 December 1985.