combat aircraft

Above: The

‘Fiends’ tend to fl y

with Sniper and

ASQ-213 pods on

the inlet stations

as standard.

Below: A sharp

echelon of

‘Fiends’ over

typically dramatic

Alaskan terrain.

dominance begins with a straight-faced
look upon the battles of the past — the
victories as well as the losses, and a
solemn remembrance of our prisoners of
war and missing in action.’

‘Fiends’ and the ‘Viper’
The 36th ushered in the era of the F-16
on August 10, 1988, when squadron
commander Lt Col Al Spitzer landed
the  rst ‘Viper’ at Osan. The squadron’s
combat capabilities were transformed
even further when, in 1990, the squadron
converted to the Block 40 F-16C/D.
Addition of the LANTIRN (Low Altitude
Navigation and Targeting Infra-Red for
Night) system in the Block 40 gave the
‘Fiends’ the ability to  y very low while
delivering precision-guided munitions
under the cover of darkness.
Signi cant upgrades to the Block 40
in recent years have included  elding
the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition
(JDAM), a critical capability for all-weather
precision engagement. In addition, the
arrival of the AIM-9X Sidewinder and the
AN/AAQ-33 Sniper XR Advanced Targeting
Pod have become mainstays of the F-16s’
various combat con gurations.
In spring 2012, the ‘Fiends’ reached
another milestone when the squadron
acquired the AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting
System pod, better known as HTS, to be
used in conjunction with the AGM-88
High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile
(HARM). The system opened a new door

for the Block 40 F-16, as it presented the

ability to conduct SEAD — in a limited

sense, as the Block 50/52s are the SEAD

masters — over the Korean peninsula.

While SEAD is not the bread-and-butter

mission, it has become a very important

part of the squadron’s capability, as

tensions with North Korea have risen

steadily over the past few years.

In addition to SEAD, the ‘Fiends’ provide

the Combat Air Forces (CAF) with another

critical capability: taking brand-new

F-16 pilots straight out of the B-Course

and molding them into capable, lethal

instruments of foreign policy. Under most

circumstances, a  edgling ‘Viper’ driver

achieves a full CMR (combat mission-

ready) upgrade within 30 days of their

arrival at the squadron.

The tempo of operations at Osan is

fast-paced, and very di erent from

other F-16 bases in that it’s not tasked

with deployments to support current

operations in the Middle East and

South-west Asia. The biggest movement

comes in the form of the occasional

trip to ‘Red Flag-Alaska’ and ‘Distant

Frontier’. On such a detachment, the

squadron continues to  y a lot, holding

true to the 51st Fighter Wing’s ‘Fight

tonight’ mantra.

Because of that requirement, more is

expected of the young ‘Viper’ drivers,

who typically end up in the  ight lead

upgrade syllabus within a year. The

normal timeframe elsewhere in the CAF

is two years. These challenges come

with the territory of  ying in the most

forward-deployed F-16 squadron in the

USAF. The mission set asks a lot of the

‘Fiends’, but regardless of the demanding

mission, the squadron continues to stand

ready to defend the people of South

Korea, as it has for the past 47 years.

http://www.combataircraft.net // December 2018 57