14 Jul 2021

388th Munitions Squadron begins new familiarization training regimen

The 388th Munitions Squadron began a new training regimen recently encompassing each of their twelve different sections. Starting in the precision guided munitions section, Airmen from one of the other ten sections in the squadron received familiarization training on the Guided Bomb Unit-39 small diameter bomb. The training covered proper loading and unloading techniques on the GBU/39, and its bomb rack, the BRU-61. The plan is to incorporate each different munitions section into the training to create multi-capable Airmen.

20 Jan 2021

20th MXG improves AF loading lethality

The 20th Maintenance Group weapons standardization flight was selected as the test-bed for the Air Force’s renewed Integrated Combat Turn weapons loading procedure starting in early 2019.

18 Mar 2020

PSAB exercises ICT capabilities

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon rests on the flight line at Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, March 9, 2020. Airmen at PSAB, practiced hot refueling and loading munitions to ensure rapid return to the skies during combat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Giovanni Sims)

16 May 2019

Airmen come together for Combat Archer exercise

The 325th Fighter Wing is approaching the conclusion of Combat Archer 19-8 that was conducted in conjunction with the on-going Checkered Flag 19-1 exercise at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, May 6-17, 2019. Combat Archer, also known as the Weapons Systems Evaluation Program, is the Department of Defense’s largest air-to-air live-fire evaluation exercise.

1 Aug 2017

Providing freedom from terror: RPAs help reclaim Sirte

In May 2015, Sirte, Libya, still recovering from the fallout of civil war, fell to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria forces. It took a year until the United Nations backed government of Libya, the Government of National Accord, launched an offensive to retake the city. On August 1, 2016, the Pentagon announced Operation Odyssey Lightning in which United States military forces would join the GNA against ISIS. While U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jets and AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters struck ISIS territory in the limelight, remotely piloted aircraft aircrews provided dominant persistent attack and reconnaissance from imperceptible altitudes over Libya quietly from their cockpits in the U.S. In fact, the crews were overhead Sirte gathering information before the operation even began.

9 Jun 2017

Cleared hot: When predators and reapers engage

Following the mission brief and pre-flight checks, an aircrew consisting of an officer pilot in command and a career enlisted aviator sensor operator observe a target in an area of responsibility overseas from a cockpit in the United States and waits for the green light from a joint terminal attack controller on the ground. Anticipation heightens as the JTAC confirms the target and gives the aircrew the clearance to attack. The aircrew then reviews checklists before engaging, adrenaline begins to seep in and the whirring from electronic components in the cockpit recedes from awareness. Their concentration sharpens and as the pilot squeezes the trigger, and a laser guided AGM-114 Hellfire missile is released. The sensor operator hones in on the objective at hand by keeping the laser designator crosshairs precisely over the target and guiding the missile. The countdown begins until impact...10, 9, 8…

24 May 2017

All in a night’s work: MQ-9s maximize airpower downrange

As many Americans sleep soundly in their beds, Airmen in attack squadrons across the 432nd Wing flying the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper from cockpits in the continental U.S. are having decisive effects in the fight against violent extremism. In combat operations, last week, one MQ-9 squadron, in particular, stood above the rest when aircrews employed 13 Hellfire missiles and 500-pound bombs during one eight-hour overnight shift. These employments occurred in two different combat arenas separated by thousands of miles, while the aircrew piloting the aircraft sat, just feet away from one another, in separate cockpits in the squadron.

30 Jan 2017

Weapons Airmen enable joint training

Weapons troops from the 74th Aircraft Maintenance Unit enabled joint force training during Green Flag-West 17-03, Jan. 13-27 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.GFW, an air-land combat integration exercise, provided these Airmen with a rare opportunity to put their home station training to use by allowing them to load live munitions

11 May 2016

Bomb building: Creech leadership shadows Ammo Airmen

Col. Case Cunningham, 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing commander, joined Chief Master Sgt. Michael Ditore, 432nd Wg/432nd AEW command chief, for Ditore’s shadow an Airman initiative with the Airmen of the 432nd Maintenance Squadron’s munitions flight April 27, 2016, at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.

15 Mar 2016

Piecing the puzzle together, RPAs provide crucial CAP capabilities: Pre-flight maintenance

With a mission fully planned, remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and ground control stations (GCS) must be in complete working order to ensure the aircrew has an operational RPA to get the mission done successfully and safely. To accomplish this task, Airmen from more than 19 Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs) work together to manage the safety of the aircraft by ensuring its weapons are correctly built and loaded, the GCSs are operational, the data links are active, and the equipment needed to maintain the aircraft are operational to ensure remotely piloted aircraft operations can be conducted worldwide.