Wild Weasel

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An F-4G carrying the tools of the trade, from nearest to farthest, AGM-88 HARM, AGM-65 Maverick, ALQ-119 ECM pod, AGM-78 Standard ARM and AGM-45 Shrike, circa 1981.

Wild Weasel patch.

Wild Weasel is a nickname for aircraft of the United States Air Force tasked with the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (or SEAD) mission. The name derives from Project Wild Weasel, the first development program for a dedicated SAM-detection and suppression aircraft. Originally named Project Ferret, to denote a predatory animal that goes into its prey's den to kill it, the name was changed to differentiate it from the code-name "Ferret" that had been used during World War II for radar counter-measures bombers.

In brief, the job of a Wild Weasel aircraft is to bait enemy anti-aircraft defenses into targeting it with their radars, whereupon the radar waves are traced back to their source so that the Weasel or its teammates can precisely target it for destruction. A simple analogy is that if you're playing tag in the dark, you can shine a flashlight into the night to see where your opponent is, but as soon as you do so, your exact location is revealed, and he or his friends may tag you before you get a chance to tag them.

The Wild Weasel concept was originally proposed in 1965 as a method of countering the increasing North Vietnamese SAM threat, using volunteer crews flying the two-seat F model of the F-100 Super Sabre. However, the F-100F Wild Weasel I, while an effective airframe, had first flown in 1956 and did not have the performance characteristics to survive in the high threat environment.

The Wild Weasel role was then passed in the summer of 1966 to the EF-105F Thunderchief. The F-105 Wild Weasel II was a better platform for this role and was equipped with more advanced radar, jamming equipment, and a heavier armament. The Wild Weasel II F-105F was eventually replaced by the Wild Weasel III variant; 61 F-105F units were upgraded to F-105G specifications.

However, the F-105 had gone out of production by 1964, and with severe combat attrition of the F-105 inventory the need for a still more sophisticated aircraft resulted in the conversion of 36 F-4C aircraft, designated F-4C Wild Weasel IV. The F-4E, the most advanced Phantom variant with extensive ground attack capabilities and an internal gun became the basis for the F-4G Wild Weasel V (also known as the Advanced Wild Weasel). One hundred sixteen F-4G models were converted from F-4Es, the first one flying in 1975. Squadron service began in 1978. The F-4G saw combat during the 1991 Gulf War and remained in service until 1996. By this time the F-4G was the last operational variant of the Phantom II.

Currently the Wild Weasel mission is tasked to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, using the F-16 Block 50D and Block 52D, with production beginning in 1991.

1 Mission Tactics
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Mission Tactics

F-105 Thunderchief Wild Weasel.

In 1966, over North Vietnam, Wild Weasel flights of four aircraft sometimes were led by a single F-105F/G two-seat aircraft (aided by its Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) with his electronic receivers & analyzers) plus three F-105Ds. Sometimes two "F"s, each with a "D" wingman, operated independently.

The Wild Weasel mission was to precede strike flights, sanitizing the target area of radar guided Surface-to-Air Missile SA-2 'Guideline' threats; leaving the threat area last, sometimes resulting in 3.5 hour missions, returning to Royal Thai Air Force Bases. This was achieved by turning toward the air defense site in a threatening manner, or by firing radar homing missiles at the site, or by visually locating the site to dive bomb it. These tactics were attempted while under attack by MiGs and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA).

The F-105F did not utilize radar jammers, since its purpose was to provide a decoy target, protecting the strike flights, and encouraging a SAM launch which generated enough bright orange smoke to facilitate visually locating the SAM site for immediate dive bombing attack.

With multiple in-coming missiles in visual sight it was possible to dive abruptly-sharply (break) to avoid them. Failure to see the missiles approaching at three times fighter cruise speed would result in the destruction of the aircraft and failure of the mission.

[edit] Trivia

The unofficial motto of the Wild Weasel crews is YGBSM : "You Gotta Be Shittin' Me". As the story goes, this was the response of the initial Wild Weasel EWO's—former B-52 electronic warfare officers—when they first learned what the mission entailed. The missions were so dangerous and required so much teamwork that before starting their combat tours, some crews, graduating from "Weasel College" (the Nellis Air Force Base training program), took part in a mock wedding ceremony. The "WW" tailcode of the 35th Fighter Wing derives from its Wild Weasel heritage..

In one of the Wild Weasel concept's most famous uses in military operations, five F-105G's, using callsigns "Firebird 01-05", provided support for the Son Tay P.O.W. Rescue Mission, which was conducted in the early morning hours of November 21, 1970. One of these aircraft was shot down by an SA-2 surface-to-air missile, but its crew ejected safely and were successfully recovered by the HH-53 "Super Jolly" helicopters that also participated in the raid. None of the aircraft of the raiding force the Wild Weasel's were protecting were lost to enemy action.

[edit] See also

Wikisource has several original texts related to:

Audio recordings and transcripts with comments of actual Wild Weasel combat missions over Vietnam.

Broughton, J. (1996) Thud ridge. Imagination Transportation. ISBN 1-888237-09-0
Broughton, J. (1988) Going downtown: The war against Hanoi and Washington Crown. ISBN 0-517-56738-5
McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume II, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
McDonnell F-4 Phantom: Spirit in the Skies. Airtime Publishing, 1992.
Modern Air Combat, Bill Gunston and Mike Spick, Crescent, 1983.
The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.
United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
The Fury of Desert Storm--The Air Campaign, Bret Kinzey, McGraw- Hill, 1991.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston, Orion, 1988.
The World's Great Attack Aircraft, Gallery, 1988.
Wild Weasel Phantoms, Rene Francillon, Air International, Vol 47, No. 1, 1994.