July 27, 2020 83rd FWS executes joint WSEP with U.S. Navy The 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron and executed “WSEP East 20.09” from May 27 to June 12, 2020 with participants from the 53rd Wing, 325th Fighter Wing, 33rd Fighter Wing, and the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Air Wing Two.
July 24, 2020 39th Electronic Warfare Squadron activates at Eglin AFB The 39th Electronic Warfare Squadron activated for the first time in a July 23, 2020 ceremony.
July 16, 2020 First Ever “COMBAT Sentry” kicks off at Tyndall AFB The 81st Air Control Squadron is hosting the first-ever COMBAT Sentry, a command and control evaluation as part of the USAF’s Weapons System Evaluation Program, July 13-24, 2020.
July 14, 2020 Legion Pod achieves major milestones The Legion Pod, known for its advanced IRST (infrared search and track) capabilities, hit two major milestones at Eglin AFB with the first missile shot of an AIM-9X using the Legion Pod on an F-15C Eagle and the first-ever flight of an operational F-16 Fighting Falcon with the Legion Pod on July 8
July 1, 2020 NPC completes first operational patient movement Less than 100 days from an idea on a napkin to its first real-world, aeromedical evacuation, the Negatively Pressurized Conex completed its first operational mission July 1, moving 12 patients from the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to receive higher level
June 30, 2020 Commander’s Commentary: One Year in Command of the 53d Wing Just over a year ago I was given the distinct honor of taking command of the 53d Wing, and since then, I’ve been humbled to witness the professionalism of our 2600 member team of uniformed and civilian members as we align to and advance our common purpose of providing tactical advantage to the
June 26, 2020 NPC, NPC-L ready to save lives On June 24 the first Negatively Pressurized Conex ready for operational use touched down at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, with 16 experts from Joint Base Charleston and three members of the program office team to stand on alert status and train additional Airmen on the NPC.
June 19, 2020 53rd Test Support Squadron Change of Command U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher Byrne, 53rd Test Support Squadron commander, right, assumes command from U.S. Air Force Col. Nicholas Reed, 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group commander, left, at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, on June 12, 2020. U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Shaun Barnette, 53rd
April 28, 2020 Software innovations makes F-16 more capable WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio (AFLCMC) – F-16 Operational Flight Program (OFP) M-series 7.2+ was released in April 2020 to more than 600 Block 40/42/50/52 F-16s delivering a wide range of new capabilities to the Fighting Falcon. The $455 million program fielded major capability upgrades such as the
April 22, 2020 28th TES provides support for COVID-19 isolation container testing JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. – The 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron is providing essential test support on an isolation container prototype, known the Negative Pressure Conex (NPC), which is being evaluated for potential use as a transport module for individuals infected with the COVID-19 virus and