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The Wild Weasels at 60: the origins and the history of 20th Fighter Wing SEAD mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Max J. Daigle
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Editor’s note: Information from the National Museum of the United States Air Force and 20th Fighter Wing unit fact sheets were referenced to support the information in this article. For more information about the origins of the suppression of enemy air defenses mission set, click here. For more information about the history of the 20th Fighter Wing and its flying squadrons, click here.

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, South Carolina -- In August of 1965, the U.S. Air Force faced a tremendous problem. In March of the same year, Operation Rolling Thunder kicked off as the U.S. military’s first systematic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese responded by constructing SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM) launch sites with the help of the Soviet Union.

The threat the SAMs posed quickly posed a deadly challenge to Rolling Thunder operations. By July, an Air Force F-4C Phantom fighter-bomber aircraft would be shot down by one of the missiles, the first victim in what would become an epidemic of losses due to SAM attacks; 110 Air Force aircraft would ultimately be downed by SAMs in Southeast Asia. 

The Air Force began launching missions specifically to deal with SAM sites only two days after the first aircraft was lost to one, but the conventional tactics employed in the first attacks proved ineffective. Raiding fighters flew at low altitudes to avoid radar detection, leaving them vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. The missions themselves were often conducted too late; by the time the retaliatory sorties were launched, the enemy had most likely moved their missiles and radars away from the last known sites.

The matter of countering the SAMs became a top priority in a very short amount of time. In August, military and industry leaders convened in secret to try and find a new way to stop the threat. They emerged with a plan to equip fighters with innovative radar homing and warning equipment designed specifically to detect SAMs. The project, and the crews, aircraft and mission that would realize its goals, would eventually take on the name “Wild Weasel."

Sixty years ago this month, four F-100 Super Sabre fighters with the new technology entered hostile airspace to hunt SAMs, beginning the long and storied history of one of the most innovative and daring mission sets in the Air Force: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, or SEAD. The two-seater Wild Weasel jets were manned by an electronic warfare officer in the back seat to track enemy radar systems while the pilot flew and fired weapons from the front seat. They would allow themselves to be “pinged” by enemy radar, use their new equipment to determine the origin of the radar emission, and attack the site - all while they came under fire themselves. This strategy was employed by the Wild Weasel crews to protect bombers that they would escort as part of the Rolling Thunder campaign as well as in missions that were specifically designed to target SAM installations.

On December 22, 1965, Capt. Allen Lamb, a F-100 pilot, and Capt. Jack Donovan, an electronic warfare officer for bomber aircraft who had been reassigned to the Wild Weasel mission, were providing cover for a bombing run when Donovan’s equipment registered enemy radar signals. Lamb flew the jet to the coordinates, identified a camouflage radar van and a nearby SAM launcher, and destroyed the site, achieving the first Wild Weasel SAM kill.

More victories would soon follow, and the Wild Weasel concept as a whole would prove to be a success by the Vietnam War’s end, countering the SAM threat and maintaining air superiority for effective strategic bombing campaigns over North Vietnam. The project also paved the way for future iterations of SEAD tactics, strategies and aircraft, all of which would come to the 20th Fighter Wing in 1994, when the unit was reassigned to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

According to Kaylyn Sawyer, 20th FW historian, the wing stood up at Shaw, where it had previously been garrisoned from 1946 to 1951, in the wake of the Soviet Union’s demise.

“After the Cold war, the Air Force made numerous changes, to include a reduction of our forces in Europe (where the wing had previously been postured as part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization deterrence efforts),” said Sawyer. “The 20th FW assumed the personnel, mission and equipment of the 363rd FW upon arrival. That decision was made in accordance with the Air Force heritage program, which aimed to keep the service’s oldest, most illustrious units active.”

One of the assets the 20th FW gained upon its return to Shaw was the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, which were all assigned to the SEAD mission upon the wing’s arrival.

The wing was soon put to the test in employing their new mission and aircraft. According to Sawyer, 20th FW F-16s were continuously deployed to support Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch during the 1990s, where they were tasked to fly SEAD missions in support of the no-fly zones in Iraq.

Becoming a full F-16 unit by October 1997, the wing would play a major role during Operation Allied Force in 1999, NATO’s bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo’s Albanian populace. While deployed, 20th FW pilots played a critical role in conducting missions to suppress Serbian SAM crews. 

“In total, the wing sent 36 F-16s from all four of our flying squadrons and deployed personnel from the 78th and 79th Fighter Squadrons to Aviano Air Base in Italy to support the operations,” said Sawyer. 

The 20th FW has also been tasked to support Operations Iraqi Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, and Inherent Resolve. Most recently, the wing’s F-16 pilots executed Operation Midnight Hammer, where they engaged the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Air Defense Force, clearing the way for B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to conduct their historic strikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

As the SEAD mission and community celebrates its 60th anniversary, the 20th Fighter Wing continues to carry out the Wild Weasel legacy of innovation, selflessness and courage. Now and in the future, Weasel Airmen will continue to ensure the United States Air Force’s ability to establish air dominance and fly, fight and win, whenever and wherever called to do so.

Article Display

The Wild Weasels at 60: the origins and the history of 20th Fighter Wing SEAD mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Max J. Daigle
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Editor’s note: Information from the National Museum of the United States Air Force and 20th Fighter Wing unit fact sheets were referenced to support the information in this article. For more information about the origins of the suppression of enemy air defenses mission set, click here. For more information about the history of the 20th Fighter Wing and its flying squadrons, click here.

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, South Carolina -- In August of 1965, the U.S. Air Force faced a tremendous problem. In March of the same year, Operation Rolling Thunder kicked off as the U.S. military’s first systematic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese responded by constructing SA-2 surface-to-air missile (SAM) launch sites with the help of the Soviet Union.

The threat the SAMs posed quickly posed a deadly challenge to Rolling Thunder operations. By July, an Air Force F-4C Phantom fighter-bomber aircraft would be shot down by one of the missiles, the first victim in what would become an epidemic of losses due to SAM attacks; 110 Air Force aircraft would ultimately be downed by SAMs in Southeast Asia. 

The Air Force began launching missions specifically to deal with SAM sites only two days after the first aircraft was lost to one, but the conventional tactics employed in the first attacks proved ineffective. Raiding fighters flew at low altitudes to avoid radar detection, leaving them vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. The missions themselves were often conducted too late; by the time the retaliatory sorties were launched, the enemy had most likely moved their missiles and radars away from the last known sites.

The matter of countering the SAMs became a top priority in a very short amount of time. In August, military and industry leaders convened in secret to try and find a new way to stop the threat. They emerged with a plan to equip fighters with innovative radar homing and warning equipment designed specifically to detect SAMs. The project, and the crews, aircraft and mission that would realize its goals, would eventually take on the name “Wild Weasel."

Sixty years ago this month, four F-100 Super Sabre fighters with the new technology entered hostile airspace to hunt SAMs, beginning the long and storied history of one of the most innovative and daring mission sets in the Air Force: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, or SEAD. The two-seater Wild Weasel jets were manned by an electronic warfare officer in the back seat to track enemy radar systems while the pilot flew and fired weapons from the front seat. They would allow themselves to be “pinged” by enemy radar, use their new equipment to determine the origin of the radar emission, and attack the site - all while they came under fire themselves. This strategy was employed by the Wild Weasel crews to protect bombers that they would escort as part of the Rolling Thunder campaign as well as in missions that were specifically designed to target SAM installations.

On December 22, 1965, Capt. Allen Lamb, a F-100 pilot, and Capt. Jack Donovan, an electronic warfare officer for bomber aircraft who had been reassigned to the Wild Weasel mission, were providing cover for a bombing run when Donovan’s equipment registered enemy radar signals. Lamb flew the jet to the coordinates, identified a camouflage radar van and a nearby SAM launcher, and destroyed the site, achieving the first Wild Weasel SAM kill.

More victories would soon follow, and the Wild Weasel concept as a whole would prove to be a success by the Vietnam War’s end, countering the SAM threat and maintaining air superiority for effective strategic bombing campaigns over North Vietnam. The project also paved the way for future iterations of SEAD tactics, strategies and aircraft, all of which would come to the 20th Fighter Wing in 1994, when the unit was reassigned to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.

According to Kaylyn Sawyer, 20th FW historian, the wing stood up at Shaw, where it had previously been garrisoned from 1946 to 1951, in the wake of the Soviet Union’s demise.

“After the Cold war, the Air Force made numerous changes, to include a reduction of our forces in Europe (where the wing had previously been postured as part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization deterrence efforts),” said Sawyer. “The 20th FW assumed the personnel, mission and equipment of the 363rd FW upon arrival. That decision was made in accordance with the Air Force heritage program, which aimed to keep the service’s oldest, most illustrious units active.”

One of the assets the 20th FW gained upon its return to Shaw was the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, which were all assigned to the SEAD mission upon the wing’s arrival.

The wing was soon put to the test in employing their new mission and aircraft. According to Sawyer, 20th FW F-16s were continuously deployed to support Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch during the 1990s, where they were tasked to fly SEAD missions in support of the no-fly zones in Iraq.

Becoming a full F-16 unit by October 1997, the wing would play a major role during Operation Allied Force in 1999, NATO’s bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo’s Albanian populace. While deployed, 20th FW pilots played a critical role in conducting missions to suppress Serbian SAM crews. 

“In total, the wing sent 36 F-16s from all four of our flying squadrons and deployed personnel from the 78th and 79th Fighter Squadrons to Aviano Air Base in Italy to support the operations,” said Sawyer. 

The 20th FW has also been tasked to support Operations Iraqi Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, and Inherent Resolve. Most recently, the wing’s F-16 pilots executed Operation Midnight Hammer, where they engaged the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Air Defense Force, clearing the way for B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to conduct their historic strikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

As the SEAD mission and community celebrates its 60th anniversary, the 20th Fighter Wing continues to carry out the Wild Weasel legacy of innovation, selflessness and courage. Now and in the future, Weasel Airmen will continue to ensure the United States Air Force’s ability to establish air dominance and fly, fight and win, whenever and wherever called to do so.