'Combat Shield' helps Wolf Pack reinforce electronic warfare capabilities
By Senior Airman Stephen Collier, 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
/ Published May 08, 2007
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KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea May 7, 2007 -- Staff Sgt. Daniel Romero, 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron electronic warfare journeyman, sets up a test box on the tail of an 8th Fighter Wing F-16 May 7 during a Combat Shield electronic warfare systems diagnostic. Combat Shield is primarily responsible for assisting wing commanders in determining a unit's level of electronic warfare readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Collier)
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KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea May 7, 2007 -- Staff Sgt. Daniel Romero, 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron electronic warfare journeyman, tightens down an evaluation test box May 7 during Combat Shield testing here. Sergeant Romero, together with the Combat Shield team, is reviewing the Wolf Pack's electronic warfare capabilities until May 11. The team is based at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Collier)
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KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea May 7, 2007 -- Senior Airman Chad Engelman, 8th MXS electronic warfare systems journeyman, ties down electrical components in an electronic countermeasure pod May 7. Maintainers tie down the components during flight so as pilots pull high-G maneuvers, the components aren't rattled out of place. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Collier)
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KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea May 7, 2007 -- Senior Airman Chad Engelman, 8th MXS electronic warfare systems journeyman, ties down electrical components in an electronic countermeasure pod May 7. Maintainers tie down the components during flight so as pilots pull high-G maneuvers, the components aren't rattled out of place. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Collier)
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --
The 8th Fighter Wing "Wolf Pack" initiated Combat Shield May 7 as part of the wing's ability to maintain a constant deterrent against North Korean aggression.
Combat Shield, an electronic warfare assessment program hosted by the 53rd Electronic Warfare Group, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., primarily assists wing commanders in determining a unit's level of electronic warfare readiness. Throughout the week-long program, Maj. Tim Harms, 53rd EWG Combat Shield officer, said the point of Combat Shield is to provide a "leave behind" program for maintenance, aircrews and wings in general to take advantage of.
"What we're here to do is support combat situational awareness through the electronic warfare mission," said Major Harms, who has more than 20 years experience with electronic warfare. "Because avionics Airmen are focused on getting sorties out like other maintainers, they may not see what we see day in and day out. Electronic warfare tends to be the last thing they worry about because of the mission and operations tempo. What we feed into is combat survivability."
Combat Shield officials stress the assessment is not a test, evaluation or inspection of a unit's electronic warfare components, countermeasure pods and radar warning receivers. Rather, Combat Shield officials thoroughly review the systems to ensure they are fully-mission capable.
The pods and RWRs are also checked for anomalies that can surface after an aircraft returns from flight. Even though F-16s are capable of pulling nine-G maneuvers, cables and wiring within the aircraft, over time, can suffer from fatigue. And wiring within each pod, together with determining any flaws within the systems, is an area of concern for Staff Sgt. Jesse Bailey, Combat Shield ground crew maintainer.
"Pretty much what we do is to find hidden faults that can't be found on the flightline," Sergeant Bailey said. "We have tools they generally don't have out here. We use antenna couplers which mount to the aircraft's antenna. With these, we send threats from our computers, mimicking those of real world enemies to determine if the aircraft is tracking exactly what we feed it. Our hope is the [8th Fighter] wing will get more capable aircraft out of Combat Shield as well as make the pilots feel a little safer."
But electronic warfare systems at Kunsan, according to Col. Joseph "Phoenix" Swillum, 8th Maintenance Group commander, are already up to par, giving Combat Shield experts what he says "not much to find."
"Because of April's (Operational Readiness Inspection), our aircraft have already been through a thorough review, to include electronic warfare pods," Colonel Swillum said. "We are glad the Combat Shield folks could come out and review the way we do electronic warfare, but with the excellent job our maintenance folks did during the ORI, we should be in tip-top shape."
Responding to increased deployments and aligning itself with the air expeditionary force model, the Combat Shield program has steadily transitioned to supporting the Total Force with electronic warfare requirements. During wartime, the 53rd EWG, according to the Eglin AFB guide, provides emergency reprogramming of electronic warfare systems mission data. The 53rd also supports Combat Shield measures during annual Red Flag exercises at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.