United States Air Force Weapons School

The mission of the USAF Weapons School or United States Air Force Weapons School, is to teach graduate-level instructor courses, which provide the world's most advanced training in weapons and tactics employment to officers of the combat air forces. The USAF Weapons School, headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada with detachments at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, Hurlburt Field, Florida, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas,Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

The Weapons School accomplishes its mission by providing graduate-level instructor academic and flying courses to USAF Combat Air Forces (CAF) The School conducts extensive technical off-station training and liaison with CAF units. The School publishes the quarterly USAF Weapons Review with worldwide readership. All positions are selectively manned.

The Weapons School's squadrons include the Weapons Instructor Courses for the following aircraft and systems: A-10 Thunderbolt II, Lockheed AC-130, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules, F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-117 Nighthawk, HH-60 Pave Hawk, KC-135 Stratotanker, MC-130, MH-53 Pave Low, Command and Control Operations, Intelligence, Space, and Support

History

Aircraft Gunnery School

The USAF Weapons School traces its roots to the Aircraft Gunnery School established in 1949 at Las Vegas Air Force Base (which became Nellis Air Force Base in 1950). This organization brought together a cadre of World War II combat veterans dedicated to teaching the next generation of pilots. The Gunnery School converted to combat crew training to meet the needs of the Korean War.

USAF Fighter Weapons School

In January 1954, the school assumed the mission of training fighter instructors, and took on the title, "USAF Fighter Weapons School." Students at Nellis trained in F-51, F-80, F-84 and all versions of the F-100 aircraft during this period. By 1960, the F-100 and the F105 were left as the two primary aircraft flown at the Weapons school. In 1965, the Fighter Weapons School added the F-4 to its courses. As the roles of fighter aircraft expanded during the Vietnam War, the Fighter Weapons School began to have an impact across the larger Air Force. Many of the air-to-ground and air-to-air innovations of this period can be traced to the Weapons School. Assigned aircraft continued to change in concert with Air Force inventories. The Weapons School deactivated the F-100 and F-105 courses, and added the F-111 and A-7D. The Aggressors, flying the T-38 and F-5, were stood-up as part of the Weapons School in the early 1970s to improve air-to-air skills by providing accurate threat replication for dissimilar air combat training. The A-7 tenure in the school was a brief 3 years, as the squadron transitioned from A-7s to F-5 Aggressors in 1975. Fighter modernization brought both the A-10 and the F-15 into Weapons School operations in 1977.

The 1980s ushered in a time of significant change for the Weapons School. In 1981, the school underwent a complete reorganization as the squadrons became divisions. The Aggressor squadrons transferred to the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing. The F-111 Division became a geographically separated detachment of the Nellis-based Weapons School. The newly formed F-16 Division graduated its first students in 1982. In 1984, the Weapons School expanded its courses beyond the traditional fighter aircrew, adding a course to train weapons controllers in the F-15 Division. A passing of the torch to the current Weapons School occurred when the last F-4 class graduated in 1985, ending 20 years of F-4 weapons officer training. The Air Weapons Controller Division, later known as the Command and Control Operations (CCO) Division, activated as a separate unit in 1987. The school gained a Fighter Intelligence Officers Course in 1988, which became the graduate patch-awarding Intelligence Division in 1990. The F-15E Division became part of the school in 1991.

USAF Weapons School

With the stand-up of Air Combat Command in 1992, the school embarked on a dramatic shift from its 43-year focus exclusively on fighter aviation, dropping the "fighter" from its title and becoming the "Air Force Weapons School." The change was much more than symbolic with the activation of the B-52 and B-1 Divisions that year. Rescue helicopters joined the school with the HH-60 Division in 1995 while the F-111 retired. That year also saw the addition of RC-135 RIVET JOINT and EC-130 COMPASS CALL courses to the CCO Division. To increase the graduate-level understanding of space and air integration for operators, the school added the Space Division in 1996.

With a growing need for weapons officers skilled at integrating all aspects of air and space power, the Weapons School has continued to expand. 2000 saw the addition of the E-8 JSTARS to the CCO Division. Special Operations Forces (SOF) also became part of the Weapons School in 2000,developing courses for the MH-53 and AC-130. Stealth joined the school in 2002 with the addition of the F-117 and B-2 Divisions. SOF added an MC-130 course that year as well. In 2003, all of the Weapons School divisions were re-designated (or initially activated) as squadrons, and the Intelligence Sensor Weapons Instructor Course was added to provide graduate-level training in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance integration. In 2006, the F-117 Weapons Instructor Course deactivated and the merger with the Mobility Weapons School added the C-130, KC-135, and C-17 Weapons Instructor Courses.

Today's Weapons School encompasses 16 squadrons, teaching 20 combat specialties at 8 locations. Only 30% of today's students come from the classic fighter specialties which built the initial reputation of the "patch." The 50+ year tradition of excellence associated with the Air Force Weapons School continues as today's graduates go to units worldwide to focus on the integration challenges of tomorrow.

Weapons Squadrons

References

* [http://www.nellis.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=4098 Nellis 57th Wing Fact Sheet]