Suppresion of Enemy Air Defences
"During the early days of the Vietnam War, the United States Air
Force had almost full autonomy over the skies of Vietnam. However,
once the Soviet Union and China began arming the North Vietnamese
Army (NVA), with advanced Surface to Air missile (SAM) systems, the
U.S. domination of the skies was abrubtly challenged. To deal with
the new SAM threat, the U.S. Air Force decided to dedicate men and
machine exclusively to the SAMs. Thus a new breed of aviator and
aircraft were born, the Wild Weasels.
The purpose of the Weasels was to seek out and engage NVA SAM
sites, and if possible destroy them. Often times though, the only
way the Weasel pilots could locate a SAM site was by getting the
NVA to fire a SAM at them, thus revealing their position.
Tantamount to a suicide mission, the Weasel missions were amongst
the most dangerous sorties of the war. Losses in the Weasel
squadrons were among the highest of the war. In the early stages of
the Weasel development, the aircraft and its avionics were not
ideally suited for this new and dangerous mission. However as the
war progressed, the U.S. Air Force developed a dedicated Weasel
aircraft, the Republic F-105G Thunderchief. The Thud as it is
affectionately known to the pilots who flew it, is recognized as
the workhorse of the Vietnam War. The men who flew the F-105 love
the airplane and from all accounts the aircraft performed superbly
throughout the war.
One such Wild Weasel is retired U.S. Air Force Colonel George
Acree. Colonel Acree flew the F-105 both as a bomber and a Weasel
aircraft. With over 200 missions over North Vietnam to his credit,
Colonel Acree was one of a different breed of men. Colonel Acree
and the other Weasel pilots flew the most dangerous missions of the
war and did so with courage, honor and professionalism. Putting
aside the nasty politics that governed the Vietnam War, the Weasel
pilots accepted their mission and carried it out faithfully. The
men who flew the Weasel missions in the Vietnam War did so to a
varying degree of success, but they paved the way for the Wild
Weasel program to become a major part of the modern day United
States Air Force."
from
http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/vietnam/airpower/wildweasel.aspx
more modern "wild weasels" kill SAMs using AGM-88 HARMs (high speed
anti-radiation missiles), which are missiles that home in on the
radar emissions of the SAM fire control radars.
just wondering, does the RSAF have any aircraft or squadrons that
are specifically tasked for SEAD? and does the RSAF have any
anti-radiation missiles in our inventory?
