16 EWS provides shield to combat air forces

  • Published
  • By Ashley M. Wright
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  From flying JN-4 Jennies in the roaring twenties to developing the latest electronic warfare test for the 21st century, more than 150 personnel of the 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron rely on experience, one of kind equipment and ingenuity to test and deliver information that protects today's warfighters from a multitude of threats.

The unit traces its history back more than 90 years; and after serving as an observation unit in World War I, the squadron has fallen under the historic leadership of Maj. Charles Tinker, Tinker AFB namesake, and Maj. Henry "Hap" Arnold.

Today, leading the 16th EWS falls to Lt. Col. Scott Guilbeault.

"We help strengthen the shield," the commander said. "The biggest part of what we do is electronic counter measures and electronic warfare protection for our aircraft and aircrew. Ultimately, our mission is to enable pilots and aircrews to fly out, get the mission done and get back safely."

The squadron consists of four flights, a detachment and a cadre of individuals laying the foundation for the next generation of electronic warfare. Each division is led by experienced hands.

"Our senior NCOs take on the role of flight commander," Colonel Guilbeault said. "I would put them against any captain or major. They take care of business and know what they are doing."

Aggressor and Integrated Avionics Flights
In the past year, the aggressor flight travelled to 42 different wings providing electronic warfare assessment and supplying technicians and equipment to execute the COMBAT SHIELD Electronic Warfare Assessment Program. Given the geographic complexity of this mission, it is no wonder the flight also manages the squadron's vehicle fleet of semi trucks and trailers.

The various flights use these vehicles and trailers to transport COMBAT SHEILD equipment and to maneuver Mobile Test Facilities to replicate lab conditions anywhere.

"These guys are a road show," said Senior Master Sgt. Michael Garland, 16 EWS superintendent. "They are packing up and driving test and evaluation equipment all over the United States."

The Integrated Avionics Flight controls two of the mobile mock-up laboratory simulators. The labs allow simulated threats to be tested against F-15s on the ground. The 38-member flight performs operations level maintenance on A-10, F-15 and F-16 aircraft including preflight checks, post-flight inspections and loading test pods on the flightline.

"We also do a lot with software operational checkout to make sure the new upgrades are able to be fielded with no bugs or errors," said Master Sgt. Jamie Cummins, Integrated Avionics assistant flight chief.

Conventional Avionics Flight
The squadron's conventional avionics flight is divided into three sections: ECM pods, advanced programs and threat simulation labs.

"We basically test and validate all electronic warfare data for the combat air forces," said Master Sgt. Michael Checkley, Conventional Avionics flight chief. "We run the gamut. We take the EW from beginning to end, and then take it out to the field for them to use."

The advanced program uses test pods in a different capacity than the other flights.

"In advanced programs, where the rest of the squadron is trying to make missiles miss the aircraft and fly away [with pods], the ALE-50 [pod system] is actually a towed-decoy, which attracts the missile," said Master Sgt. Jerome Sullivan, advanced programs division.

The AP section is the only test bed for ALE-50 in the entire Air Force.

"If the developer comes up with a new style of decoy they want to test or they want to upgrade the tow line, they come here to test it to see if it is a viable option for the Air Force," Sergeant Sullivan said. "The guys in the AP shop handle the process from writing the data, hanging it on the jet, and taking it down after the flight."

The flight's data writing does not necessarily dictate that they stare at computer screens all day.

"Before an idea becomes reality, it needs to get shaken out here on the ground and then shaken out in the air," Colonel Guilbeault said. "It is no different with EW. The flights are tweaking the ones and zeros. A lot of these are legacy systems. You take these systems apart, and you have wires and waveguides. Developing them for future efforts takes a lot of hands-on work not necessarily involving plugging in a computer."

Bomber Flight
The squadron's bomber flight conduct lab testing, ground testing and simulated flight testing of B-1, B-2 and B-52 aircraft to provide valid data to ensure the safety of the aircrew. The flight follows a three-step process, which takes abstract experiments to concrete data for use by warfighters across the globe.

"You can write all the software you want about what a threat is going to look like and that is what is run here locally with the threat simulators," Colonel Guilbeault said. "That is just the first step. The next step is to test it on the ground against a more accurate system. The final step is a flight test. Each of these will tweak out issues and provide more accurate data."

The flight uses specially crafted 18-wheeled Mobile Test Facilities to recreate lab conditions wherever the tests may be conducted. The flight procured the trucks and modified them for the unique test and evaluation mission.

"We send enlisted guys to truck driving school to drive semi-trucks all over the United States and to the different labs and ranges," Sergeant Garland said. "I have never been in a maintenance squadron that manages semi-trucks and owns and train drivers."

The ingenuity of the flight evolved simple tractor trailers into mission specific frames capable of handling the demands of units across the country.

"The equipment used in the bomber flight is one of a kind," Colonel Guilbeault said. "Most of it is hand-built and developed here. The organic equipment is direct from supply stores and has been modified and improved throughout the years to make it work to simulate what it would act like on the aircraft. There is a lot of ingenuity that comes with the expertise these guys bring."

Detachment 1
The 16 EWS is not limited to just Eglin. The squadron's detachment, located on Tyndall AFB, provides realistic training and jamming simulators using AQ-188 pods to simulate foreign attacks on Air Force assets.

"Their pods are a little bit different," Colonel Guilbeault said. "They are actually electronic attack pods as opposed to protection pods. They are configured similarly on aircraft, but are used to fly against our F-15s, F-16s or other CAF assets to simulate enemy air engagement scenarios."

As the sole provider of AQ-188 pods, the detachment services, maintains and allocates the pods to wings throughout the Air Force for local training, according to the colonel. Additionally, the unit provides electronic warfare expertise and training to support Navy and 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group drone testing as well as technicians to conduct COMBAT SHIELD assessments during COMBAT ARCHER.

Joint Strike Fighter USRL
The squadron's newest flight organizes a handful of 16 EWS personnel to lay the foundation for the next phase of electronic warfare. The group is working with sister squadrons to develop the United States Reprogramming Laboratory for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Leading the flight will incorporate equipment development of the EW mission data validation and verification facility and help establish baseline programs for the project.

From the first use of deliberate radar jamming by the U.S. in WWII, to current EW support protection in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 16th EWS continue to provide EW expertise to guarantee advanced capabilities are ready for the Combat Air Forces.