http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #359 FEBRUARY 2018 // 49
Wild Weasels
F-16 Fighting Falcon, said: “Our nation’s
senior leaders have said Indo-Asia-Pacific
is the ‘single most consequential region’ for
America’s future, and I’m excited to continue
our nation’s rebalance to the Pacific.”
The PACAF area of responsibility (AOR) covers
more than 100 million square miles and extends
from the west coast of the United States to the
east coast of Africa and from
the Arctic to the Antarctic.
With potential flashpoints
including China, North Korea,
Russia and so-called Islamic
State, PACAF requires a full
spectrum of air power capabilities
and the highest levels of readiness.
“From the F-16s at Misawa and
the F-15s at Kadena, air superiority
is never in question,” added Gen
O’Shaughnessy. The Misawa-based jets
he was referring to have their home at the
northernmost US air base in Japan. While
these suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD
- pronounced ‘seed’) specialists have previously
deployed in support of the ‘war on terror’, their
main responsibility is the defence of US and
Japanese interests in the vital Pacific region.
Mission evolution
While the SEAD mission hasn’t been a mainstay
of long-running campaigns in Afghanistan
and the Middle East, it continues to be a
core capability for the US Air Force. Today,
nine USAF squadrons that fly the Block
50/52 F-16CM/DM specialise in the role.
With a switch in focus from air campaigns
against insurgent foes without sophisticated
air defence systems to countering ‘near-
peer’ threats, defence suppression shows no
signs of going away any time soon. Indeed,
the expanding anti-access/area denial (A2/
AD) capabilities of many potential enemies
arguably make the Wild Weasel assignment
more important than ever, and last year the
USAF extended the life of every F-16 to 12,000
hours, ensuring the jets will continue to grace
Misawa’s apron for many years to come.
The SEAD mission has continued to develop
in recent years to keep pace with the ‘double-
digit’ surface-to-air missile threat (denoting
Russian-made systems from the SA-10
Grumble upwards), and the Misawa F-16s are
no exception, as Col Jobe observed: “The
SEAD mission has evolved as technological
upgrades have been implemented, and the
pilots operating the aircraft have also further
developed their training and tactics to improve
their own capabilities in the aircraft in support
of the mission. Misawa F-16s are small,
powerful, extremely agile fighters that can hold
their own against any currently fielded fighter.”
Centrepiece of the SAM-killing F-16CM/DM
is its AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System
(HTS), a pod-mounted sensor found under
the left side of the aircraft’s intake. In a dense
threat environment, the HTS works extremely
Thomas Newdick interviews
Colonel R Scott Jobe, the
commander of the 35th Fighter
Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan,
and learns how the wing’s two
F-16 squadrons prepare for
their demanding mission in the
turbulent Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
