The 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron (EWS) recently collaborated with Danish and Norwegian counterparts to upgrade F-16s destined for Ukraine. The squadron’s expertise was critical in reprogramming the aircraft’s electronic warfare (EW) subsystems to counter evolving Russian threats in the electromagnetic spectrum.
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Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 68th EWS tackled the challenge of reprogramming unfamiliar EW systems on the F-16s to counter evolving Russian threats. The squadron sent a team overseas to work directly with partner nations. This EW system was not part of the U.S. military’s inventory, requiring the squadron to rapidly learn its intricacies. Additionally, the tight timeline for the aircraft’s delivery posed a significant hurdle, as the EW systems needed to be optimized before the F-16s reached Ukraine.
To address these challenges, the 68th EWS assembled a dedicated team of experts who worked tirelessly to understand the new EW system and develop effective reprogramming solutions. The squadron also collaborated closely with Danish and Norwegian counterparts, leveraging their knowledge and resources to accelerate the process.
The collaboration resulted in a new mission data file for the F-16s’ EW systems. Ukraine is now becoming an official foreign military sales case for the 68th EWS, potentially becoming the squadron’s 31st partner nation.
The 68th EWS director emphasized the strategic importance: “One F-16 with a reprogrammed pod won’t achieve air dominance alone, but it may give you a pocket of air superiority for a moment’s time to achieve an objective that has strategic importance and impact.”
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