What USAF Aircraft Should Be the Wild Weasel of the 1990's?: An Assessment of the F-4G, the F-15WW, and F-16WW.

The USAF Wild Weasel mission was born in 1965 during the Vietnam conflict. The purpose of the mission was to counter the serious radar-directed threats that were decimating the US fighter arsenal. While the current F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft has effectively met the threat into the 1980s, its capabilities reflect the aircrafts 1950s design. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union is fielding many technologically advanced radar-directed threats that bring the adequacy of the F-4G into question. This study investigated what characteristics will be required to defeat the threat of the 1990s. Next, the F-4G, F-15WW, and F-16 Wild Weasel proposal were compared against the aircraft characteristics needed as determined b a poll of experiences officers to survive the threats in the 1990s. This thesis concludes that the F-15WW possesses the most desirable characteristics to serve as the Wild Weasel aircraft for the 1990s.