About 15 seconds separated F-16 “Wild Weasel” pilots Lt. Col. William “Skate” Parks and Maj. Michael “Danger” Blea from life or death in the night skies over Yemen.
APKWS
BAE Systems has received a contract worth $1.7 billion to produce laser-guidance kits for the 2.75-inch rockets the Air Force relies on for a wide range of combat missions.
U.S. Air Forces in Europe is using one of its premier F-16 squadrons to develop and practice new tactics and weapons to counter drones. The exercise stems from the service’s experience in the Middle East, fighting off Iranian and Houthi attacks.
U.S. Air Force fighters have been using laser-guided rockets to down Houthi drones that are attacking ships in the Red Sea as the U.S. military seeks to drive down the cost of defeating cheap uncrewed systems, U.S. officials said.
In Sky Warden, AFSOC gains a flexible new hunter-killer.
An Air Force F-16 recently shot down a targeting drone with an AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rocket queued by the Viper’s targeting pod for the first time in a demonstration of future cruise missile defense.