Right: 433rd
WPS F-22A
and F-15C fly
together over
the Grand
Canyon. USAF/
MSgt Kevin J.
Gruenwald
Left: The F-22
comes into its
own at night.
Both radar
and visually
invisible. Here
a Weapons
School F-22
moves in for
fuel from a
KC-135R during
the WSINT
phase of the
course. USAF
Below: Being
co-located
with the 422nd
TES means the
433rd WPS gets
to fly the latest
configuration
of Raptor.
USAF/ A1C Kevin
TanenbaumThe Weapons School traces its roots to
the Aircraft Gunnery School established
in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base,
which later became Nellis AFB in 1950.
In January 1954, the school became the
Fighter Weapons School and by 1960 the
F-100 and the F-105 were the two primary
aircraft flown at the school. In 1965, the
FWS added the F-4 and as types evolved
the F-100 and F-105 courses made way
for F-111 and A-7D courses. The first USAF
aggressors, flying the T-38 and F-5, were
established as part of the school in the
early 1970s to improve air-to-air skills by
providing accurate threat replication. With
the stand-up of Air Combat Command in
1992, the school embarked on a dramatic
shift from its 43-year focus exclusively on
fighter aviation, and embracing many
types across the front line. Also in 2012,
the JTAC Advanced Instructor Course
began, which officially became a Weapons
Instructor Course in 2015.
The 433rd WPS’ F-15 WIC is the oldest
course in the Weapons School, and the
433rd stood up the F-22 WIC in 2008.WEAPONS SCHOOL
HISTORYhave limitless airspace and that means
we can do those large four versus
multiple adversary missions.’
The further the students progress into
the course the more the ‘integration
piece’ starts to build in. They go from
blocking and tackling in their own
specialties to working more with other
platforms and capabilities.
After the ‘core two’ academics week the
process of integrating with the wider
community really ramps up. The last four
weeks of the course are known as WSINT,
where the entire Weapons School is
working together. The 433rd WPS has the
unique benefit of flying both F-22s and
F-15C Eagles in a single unit, with a
Raptor DO and an Eagle DO sitting under
the squadron ‘boss’. ‘That’s allowed us to
have an extra training opportunity
whereby we’ve developed fighter
integration tactics,’ says Huebinger.
Explaining what this means, he adds: ‘It’s
really just a more seamless way for
multiple fighters to work together on
air-to-air tactics. It’s about capitalising on
the benefits of different fighters whilst
mitigating potential limitations.’ This
approach started in the 433rd and has
since expanded across the entire
Department of Defense as Fighter
Integration — a common buzz-phrase.Huebinger says: ‘Fighter Integration
tactics are predicated on the premise
that a lot of times there’s not going to be
as many Raptors as we want, so by
training with fourth-generation
platforms means we have more assets
and more missiles available.
When the squadrons get to the
[capstone] WSINT integration phase, it’s
like a ‘Red Flag’ on a whole different scale!
The level of complexity in the problem
sets the crews go up against and the
level of the threats they go up against is
mind-blowing. As the overall mass of the
USAF shrinks, multi-role and effective
integration of assets becomes all the
more important. Getting the most from
people and from respective platforms,
and the ability to seamlessly work
together to achieve the desired effect.
This is the place where the USAF can
bring a complex problem set, whether it’s
dynamic targeting, an advanced SAM
(surface-to-air missile) network or a Red
Air environment, and the only way to
successfully navigate it is by integrating
all those capabilities successfully.
WSINT continues to evolve. It is
designed to prepare students for any
scenario they could face. The final phases
of the course see Navy and Marine Corps
involvement to complete the picture.(^78) RAPTOR
72-81 Weapons School C.indd 78 28/09/2017 15:01