F-16 Fighting Falcon News

October 27, 2009 (by SrA Stefanie Torres) - Misawa Air Base's F-16 Fighting Falcons will fly against enemy aircraft in order to strike targets, protect the base and fly missions during a realistic simulation of war beginning October 28.
More than 130 Airmen from various aggressor squadrons, and 10 F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 18th Aggressor Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, will engage Misawa's Airmen for the first time in order to train and challenge pilots at home station.

Aggressor units are trained to use enemy tactics, techniques and procedures to simulate the capabilities of enemy aircraft. The 18th AGRS use uniquely painted F-16s that represent enemy forces and prepare combat air forces through challenging, realistic threat replication, training, test support, academics and feedback. Their task is to know, teach and replicate adversary air threats better than any other squadron.

Not only is this the first time an aggressor squadron has come to Misawa, but this visit will also be the first time the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons will be able to participate at the same time, explained Capt. Ryan Goodwin, 35th Fighter Wing electronic warfare officer.

"This is a big deal for us," he said. "This will give us a chance to validate and improve our tactics, and now the squadrons will all be able to train together as a team at home. The squadrons have not been here at the same time for at least 16 months because of various deployments."

Joining the 18th Aggressor Squadron are various other squadrons who will assist with the flying missions as ground support, explained Maj. David Brodeur, project officer for the aggressors. All the pieces combined are not only flyers.

"We are a mobile training team consisting of maintenance, information operations and intelligence," he said. "We will give Misawa good value training. We will be able to talk them through tactics, and they will be able to learn a lot."

The 57th Information Aggressor Squadron, based out of Nellis AFB, Nev., will provide the information operations threat for the full-spectrum mobile training team. Members of the 57th IAS will use technological expertise and operational background to identify vulnerabilities and exploit weaknesses in command and control infrastructure.

The 507th Air Defense Aggressor Squadron, also from Nellis AFB, Nev., will add to the training by including academics on enemy integrated air defense systems. The 507th ADAS personnel focus on the capabilities and tactics of enemy early warning, electronic combat and surface-to-air missile systems. 507th ADAS training, along with 18th AGRS, is especially useful for Misawa pilots due to the 35th Fighter Wing focus on the suppression of enemy air defense mission.

The 527th Space Aggressor Squadron, based out of Schriever AFB, Colo., makes up the final portion of the full-spectrum mobile training squadron. Space aggressors will attack friendly forces by replicating jamming of Global Positioning System receivers or distributing satellite communication signals.

The 18th AGRS is the only Pacific Air Forces mobile training team that supports training and exercises throughout the Pacific region. The 13th and 14th FS have previously trained with the 18th AGRS while participating in national-level exercises such as Red Flag and Northern Edge, but not at Misawa.

The training missions are scheduled to run from Oct. 28 - Nov. 14.