Going to 'war'

Lt. Col. Eugene Booth, 53rd Wing safety, straps into his F-16 before taking off with approximately 30 other aircraft to participate in the "Skull War" Oct. 30 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The "Skull War" is a large scale exercise ran by the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron that provides test pilots the opportunity to fly operationally representative missions with test assets. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Mike Lewis)

Triple launch

F-16 pilots watch their crew chiefs for the signal to taxi before taking off to participate in the "Skull War" Oct. 30 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The "Skull War" is a large scale exercise ran by the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron that provides test pilots the opportunity to fly operationally representative missions with test assets. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Mike Lewis)

Going to 'war'

Capt. James Long, 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, inspects ordnance on his F-16 prior participating in the "Skull War" Oct. 30 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The "Skull War" is a large scale exercise ran by the 85th TES that provides test pilots the opportunity to fly operationally representative missions with test assets. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Mike Lewis)

Roll out

An F-15 begins to taxi before taking off to participate in the "Skull War" Oct. 30 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The "Skull War" is a large scale exercise ran by the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron that provides test pilots the opportunity to fly operationally representative missions with test assets. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Mike Lewis)

Last minute check

Maj. Jason Young, 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, checks a navaigational map prior to climbing into his F-16 to participate in the "Skull War" Oct. 30 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The "Skull War" is a large scale exercise ran by the 85th TES that provides test pilots the opportunity to fly operationally representative missions with test assets. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Mike Lewis)

Skull wars commence on Halloween eve

Published Nov. 3, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Stacia Zachary
Team Eglin Public Affairs

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Skull Wars took to the skies with more than 30 aircraft Oct. 30 as Eglin's test community waged a mock war to determine the effectiveness of the Air Force's current capabilities and technology.

The 85th Test and Evaluations Squadron hosted the exercise using aircraft on loan from the 40th Flight Test Squadron to augment the forces. Additionally, eight F-15C Eagles from Elmendorf AFB, as well as one KC-135 Stratotanker each from Scott and Grand Forks AFB participated in the mock war.

The term "Skull War" is an informal name applied to periodic large force employment exercises and uses the squadron's moniker as an identifier. The squadron flies large package exercises, or missions flown with diverse aircraft, once a quarter or more often when situations allow.

This type of exercise assesses the test community's mission effectiveness.

"It helps the test mission by enabling us to fly operationally representative missions with our test assets in large mission packages," said Capt. Kevin Lord, 85th TES.

This particular exercise allowed pilots to test new technology in a real time scenario of the destruction of airfields in hostile territory.

"The F-15Cs (participated as) air-to-air combat fighter aircraft that conducted sweeps of an area. (We were) looking for any potential land-based threats or find enemy aircraft launched in a defensive attack," said Lt. Col. Charles Davis, 85th TES deputy officer and F-16 pilot. "Likewise, the F-16s complimented the exercise by providing additional air-to-surface and air-to-air protection for the F-15s.

"We were there mainly to keep the bad guys off (the F-15s') backs but also to help out with any air-to-air threats as well," Colonel Davis said.

Mitigating potential enemy attacks allows the bombers to move into range and destroy the enemy targets. The exercise allowed the use of test assets in a realistic setting and allowed the aircrew to determine new tactics for employment.

Exercises such as this present an opportunity to test the effectiveness of new technology in development for fighter jets to include the F-15 V3 AESA radar, F-16 Suite 6 operational flight program software and F-16 M5.1 OFP software.

"The combat scenario is the bread and butter in the test community because it allows us to evaluate if (the technology) will work during an actual mission as well as finding better ways to employ the upgraded aircraft," Colonel Davis said.

"It's a great opportunity to evaluate these programs in a large force exercise," added the captain. "We usually do not fly more than eight aircraft at a time for our tests, but the Skull War had over 30 aircraft flying - which presents a much more operationally realistic look at the capabilities (new technology) has."

The squadron flies large package exercises at a minimum of once a quarter.