USAF Completes Harpoon Test on F-16
Last month the 53rd Test and Evaluation Squadron of the United States Air Force completed an integration test of the AGM-84 Harpoon anti ship missile on the F-16, demonstrating both a potential new capability for USAF F-16s and a new method of testing and evaluation that allows for faster development of new capabilities and systems integrations.
The test was conducted at Eglin Airforce Base, on February 27, with an F-16 completing a taxi test while loaded with an AGM-84 Harpoon anti ship missile equipped with a new gateway system between the aircraft and the missile which allows communication between the F-16 and the Harpoon.
While Harpoons have been used with F-16s prior to this, especially in the service other nations, this test allowed for the US Navy’s stockpile of the latest AGM-84N to be used with the USAF’s current blocks of F-16s using a translator system between the aircraft and the missile that allows for the F-16 to communicate and issue commands to the Harpoon. However, what’s more remarkable is the time in which this test took place, as this test was completed without modification to the aircraft, cutting down the time in testing that would normally take years. This focus on middleware cuts allows for this capability to be added to the F-16 without any modification to the aircraft itself, offering greater freedom to the test team developing the systems involved, and drastically shortening the timespan of evaluation.
An Air Force press release was quoted as saying; “Our primary objective was to demonstrate that rapid weapons integration on U.S. Air Force platforms can be achieved efficiently by modifying middleware, without necessitating extensive updates to the aircraft itself,” said the chief project manager for rapid integration. “This test paves the way for future projects across various platforms and weapons systems, offering leaders expanded options for operational and contingency planning.”
The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group’s capability to rapidly develop new and improved methods of testing and integrating weapons is a crucial function to expanding the abilities and utility of Air Force platforms, and the group is hopeful that their efforts in developing both new systems and methods of evaluation will lead to even more developments in capabilities for other Air Force platforms in the near future. As per the Air Force’s press release; “The skill and creativity of the U.S. Armed Forces can lead to great results when they have the freedom to work outside the usual red tape,” the project manager added. “This effort highlights the potential to streamline processes and improve our overall combat readiness.”