{"id":2089,"date":"2019-12-23T18:12:48","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T15:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=2089"},"modified":"2019-12-26T23:43:31","modified_gmt":"2019-12-26T20:43:31","slug":"usaf-f-16-downs-drone-with-rocket-for-cruise-missile-defense-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=2089","title":{"rendered":"USAF F-16 Downs Drone With Rocket for Cruise Missile Defense Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Air Force F-16 recently shot down a targeting drone with an AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rocket queued by the Viper\u2019s targeting pod for the first time in a demonstration of future cruise missile defense.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"US<\/a>

US Air Force F-16C C flown by Maj Jeffrey Entine, 85th Flight Test Squadron test pilot, fires a rocket at a test drone at Eglin AFB, Fla., during a December 2019 test that successfully demonstrated shooting a small drone at low altitudes. (Photo by Screenshot from Air Force video by 1st Lt. Savanah Bray.)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., conducted the Dec. 19 test. The APKWS laser-guided rocket was originally developed for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as a low-cost, low-collateral weapon. By adapting the rocket for cruise missile defense, it can serve the same role as the much more expensive AIM-120 missile, according to an Air Force release.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe test was unprecedented and will shape the future of how the Air Force executes CMD,\u201d Col. Ryan Messer, commander of the 53d Wing at Eglin, said in a release. \u201cThis is a prime example of how the 53d Wing is using resources readily available to establish innovative ways that enhance combat capabilities for our combat units.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.airforcemag.com\/app\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DOD_107547305-1280x720-2765k-5e00f7b7e5542.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n
An F-16C flown by Maj. Jeffrey Entine, 85th Flight Test Squadron test pilot, fires a rocket at a test drone at Eglin AFB, Fla., Dec. 19. 2019. This test successfully demonstrated shooting a small drone at low altitudes. Video: 1st Lt. Savanah Bray<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Video of the test<\/a> shows the F-16 flying over the sea and firing the small rocket from a launcher on its belly.<\/p>\n

The idea of using the APKWS in this role stems from a January 2019 weapons and tactics conference, and was planned with support from across the Air Force, according to Eglin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis proof of concept can have implications for homeland defense missions, combined defense of the Arabian Gulf, and beyond,\u201d Messer said.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> Air Force Magazine (airforcemag.com<\/a>) – By Brian W. Everstine | 23 December 2019<\/p>\n

Adams Barret<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(USA\u00a0XairForces\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>Editor)
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\nTwitter.com\/AerospacNetwork<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Air Force F-16 recently shot down a targeting drone with an AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rocket queued by the Viper\u2019s targeting pod for the first time in a demonstration of future...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1675,1670,36,1671,20,1725,1,7,1663,1667,177,27,26,18],"tags":[2760,2756,1785,2757,2759,2753,2758,2755,186,2754],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2091,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089\/revisions\/2091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}