Misawa F-16s undergo upgrade program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Representatives from the 35th Fighter Wing, Air Combat Command, Lockheed Martin and the F-16 System Program Office gathered on the flightline here May 8 for a ceremony with the F-16. The ceremony celebrated the completion of the last Wild Weasel F-16 to be configured with the latest war-fighting capabilities.

The upgrade to Misawa's fleet of fighting falcon aircraft was part of an Air Force wide F-16 upgrade under the Common Configuration Implementation Program. The F-16 CCIP involves modernizing approximately 650 U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard Block 40 and Block 50 F-16s.

"Misawa has just upgraded its Block 50 F-16s to not only the CCIP, but also to Operational Flight Program 4.3 which brings about a dramatic increase in combat capability," explained Lt. Col. Ansel "Woody" Yarbough, the program element monitor for F-16 weapons system with the ACC Director of Requirements. "Misawa's mission has been suppression of enemy air defenses for many years with its Block 50s. This ceremony is commemorating the fact that we can now take that to the next level. Instead of suppress, we are also destructing and destroying our enemy as opposed to just denying him his ability to target us."

CCIP development began in 1998 under a contract with Lockheed Martin. Modification of the aircraft took part in three phases, according to a Lockheed Martin press release. Phase one involved initial modification to some Block 50 aircraft, with full modification of Block 50 aircraft happening in phase two. Phase three involved the full modification of Block 40 aircraft.

"Misawa is the last of the Block 50 squadrons to achieve this upgrade and get to the OFP 4.3 whereas there are Block 40 squadrons who are still going through the upgrade and have not gotten there yet," said Colonel Yarbough. "It took almost 10 years from 1998 to now for us to not only fit all the jets for the hardware, but now for the software to fully complement it - and that's why today is kind of monumental."

The CCIP modernizations provide a high degree of commonality in hardware and software, as well as commonality with Block 50 F-16s developed for international customers and F-16A/Bs used by European NATO countries, according to a Lockheed Martin press release.

"For the F-16 being able to precisely locate and deny our enemy access to the air is what the Block 50 is all about," Colonel Yarbough said. "Suppressing or destroying enemy air defense is something we've been doing in the F-16s since 1994. Frankly, 14 years later, our ability to do that has dramatically increased. Such that now, when our air forces and our combined forces go into enemy territory we can be confident that we have the latest and greatest abilities."