What’s up with the WSEP?

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cody R. Miller
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. --  The 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group here has just completed one of the largest Weapons System Evaluation Programs to date.

The purpose of the WSEP is to evaluate operational Department of Defense and foreign ally personnel, fighters, missiles and gunnery in realistic air combat scenarios.

With this particular evaluation, the 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron hosted approximately 35 aircraft from five squadrons from around the U.S. Air Force and Navy. The WSEP is hosted 12 times each year and is mandated by Air Combat Command leadership; the results of each evaluation is compiled into a briefing and presented to commanders across the Air Force.

According to Lt. Col. Matthew J. Bradley, commander of the 83rd FWS, a normal WSEP usually consists of 2-3 squadrons with no more than 24 aircraft on the ramp for two weeks; however this WSEP featured twice that number.  Squadrons hosted ranged from the 336th Fighter Squadron from Seymour-Johnson AFB, the 112nd Fighter Squadron from the Toledo Air National Guard, the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Eglin AFB, the 422nd TES from Nellis AFB, and the 433rd Weapons Squadron from Nellis AFB.

Bradley said he believes running the evaluation multiple times a year improves the readiness and teamwork of not only the pilots, but also of the weapons maintainers and crew chiefs that assist in the air combat mission.

"These exercises improve the knowledge of the pilots," said Bradley. "Our turn patterns and maneuvers are well above what is expected."

"Originally the load-time for our missile maintainers is around 75 minutes, but we cut it down to 40 minutes," said Staff Sgt. Cory J. Hinton, 83rd FWS aircraft armament systems craftsman. "We are not only beating the standard, but exceeding it regularly."

"It's a unique situation here," said Senior Master Sgt. Dean G. Childs, 83rd FWS aircraft armament systems craftsman, "because this is one of the only places where we can cross into our sister services and impact naval WSEP operations, as well as units in the Marine Corp. It gives us the opportunity to not only learn from them, but also allow them to see how the Air Force operates."

Though the WSEP may yield benefits such as improved unit cohesion and better pilot performance, the program can be incredibly challenging to host for the 83rd FWS.
They deal with aging equipment and software and 50% manning for an evolving readiness mission. Moreover, they primarily only have access to the "limited" QF-16s which do not provide realistic representations of 5th generation threats. The current generation fighter jet and pilot require a higher performance aerial target to test their abilities. 

According to 83rd FWS records, when all 12 evaluation periods are combined, the WSEP successfully hosts approximately 30 squadrons between the U.S.  Air Force and Navy. This includes over 200 aircraft and over 300 missiles.

Bradley said the WSEP has provided unparalleled opportunity for the U.S. military to train and project air power against any threat that may go against the U.S. and has been instrumental in the preparation for pilots for live combat.

"It takes a million minor miracles to shoot one missile, and we shot 47 this WSEP," said Bradley.