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In May 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing integrated and then demonstrated AGR-20F Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II laser-guided rockets on an F-15E Strike Eagle.
As explained by Samuel King Jr. in the article Innovative rocket tests push new F-15E weapon to warfighter, the integrated developmental and operational flight testing, including AGR-20F live fire at targets over land and water, was an expedited fielding push to get the capability to the warfighter immediately.
Within a week of the demonstrations, Strike Eagles flew with the new weapon in a geographic combatant command’s area of responsibility. The goal of adding this capability to the Strike Eagle’s arsenal was to bring it into the counter-unmanned aerial system fight in a cost-effective way alongside the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
“We made it a top priority to field this new capability as quickly and safely as possible,” said Brig. Gen. Mark Massaro, 96th TW commander.
The project started for Eglin Air Force Base’s Air Force Seek Eagle Office (AFSEO) with a nine-month completion window. AFSEO accomplished the same project for the F-16 in 2024 and would eventually leverage the lessons learned with the F-15E. Early 2025 plans stalled when the AFSEO team hit a materiel obstacle for the aircraft.
“An already-proven way to mount the rockets onto an F-15 did not exist,” said Col. Alec Spencer, AFSEO director. “A mount would need to be created, installed and then integrated into the entire testing process.”
As of mid-April, a way to mount the weapons was still theoretical.
The AFSEO team along with the 53rd Test and Evaluation Group Det. 3 finally found what they needed not with future tech, but with legacy equipment, in the 1970s-era Triple Ejector Rack-9As and LAU-131 launchers. This equipment destined for the National Airpower Reservoir in Arizona was saved to serve a new warfighting purpose.
Eglin engineers and maintainers began working to mount the racks and launchers to the aircraft. The 96th and 53rd team also created a connection and communication solution so the Strike Eagle’s systems and weapon could talk to one another. This communication system did not exist before and sprang from the team’s innovative change to the way the weapons connected to an F-16.
Typically, any new equipment added to an Air Force aircraft goes through air worthiness tests to ensure it doesn’t damage or disrupt any other systems in flight. Due to the Air Force’s increasing operational need for this weapon, however, those tests occurred simultaneously with the weapon’s demonstration.
While the weapons were being installed and connected, Massaro gave an order making the AGR-20F flight tests the base’s number one priority. This order cleared away any other test missions.
The fully connected and mounted weapons were in the air three days after the order with morning and afternoon missions flown by 40th Flight Test Squadron, 85th and 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron aircrew.
Throughout this process, and more so once the expedited test schedule began, the F-15 Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force led the integrated DT and OT effort.
Because this became the base’s top priority, many support units took action above and beyond normal operations. Logistical support became critical from equipment deliveries and parts movement to fueling the flight surge. Eglin Test and Training Range schedulers shuffled units and missions to free up land and water space and time required for the Strike Eagle missions. These were just a few who provided support for the effort.
After the initial demonstrations, the 53rd WG and 96th TW deployed Airmen to the AOR to deliver the equipment and provide the flight and maintenance training and procedures needed to use the new weapon.
The APKWS II is a design conversion of an unguided Hydra 2.75-inch rocket with a laser guidance kit to give it precision-kill capability. It is intended as an inexpensive way to destroy targets while limiting collateral damage in close combat. The APKWS II guidance section is threaded between the legacy 10-pound high-explosive warhead and Mk66 Mod 4 rocket motor. Production began in 2011. Initial Operational Capability (IOC) was declared in 2012 on AH-1W and UH-1Y helicopters. In March 2014, APKWS II was successfully integrated onto MH-60S and MH-60R. In 2016, APKWS II was fielded on the AV-8B, F-16 and A-10 aircraft.
The APKWS mid-body design guidance and control section is compatible with existing and new inventories of 2.75-inch (70 millimetre) rocket motors, warheads, and launchers, transforming them into a precise, lethal, reliable laser-guided rocket. It requires no modifications to the rocket, firing platform or fire control/launcher system and minimal training for the crew.
Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Thomas Barley / U.S. Air Force
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