U.S. Air Force Weapons School Takeoffs

November 28, 2021

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Pride inducing air power scenes showing aircraft taking off during a U.S. Air Force Weapons School Integration exercise at Nellis AFB, Nevada in November 2021.

• U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft assigned to the 340th Weapons Squadron; Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft assigned to Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The B-52 is a long-range bomber capable of dropping or launching a vast array of weapons in the U.S. inventory.

• U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft assigned to Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC) at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, takes-off during Weapons School Integration (WSINT) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The E-2 is the Navy's all-weather, carrier-based tactical battle management airborne early warning, command and control aircraft.

• U.S. Air Force A U-2 (nickname - Dragon Lady) assigned to Beale Air Force Base, California. The U-2 is a single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft with glider-like characteristics that allow it to quickly lift heavy sensor payloads to unmatched altitudes, keeping them there for extended periods of time.

• U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II (nickname - Warthog) aircraft assigned to the 66th Weapons Squadron. The A-10 can survive direct hits from armor-piercing and high explosive projectiles up to 23mm. Their self-sealing fuel cells are protected by internal and external foam.

• U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft assigned 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The F-15C Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield.

The U.S. Air Force Weapons School teaches graduate-level instructor courses that provide the world's most advanced training in weapons and tactics employment. During the course, students receive an average of 400 hours of graduate-level academics and participate in demanding combat training missions.

The goal of the course is to train students to be tactical experts in their combat specialty while also learning the art of battle-space dominance. This ability creates such a complete overmatch in combat power in any domain of conflict that adversaries have no choice but to submit or capitulate. Using an integrated approach means that Weapons School graduates are extensively familiar not only with the weapons platform or system they have been trained in through their career path, but also in how all USAF and DOD assets can be employed in concert to achieve synergistic effects.

Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Air Force photos by William R. Lewis.