Col. Richard Graham U.S.A.F. (ret'd) will talk about his experiences flying the F-4 Phantom on Wild Weasel missions in Vietnam.

An F-4G Phantom II with Wild Weasel payload: AGM-88 HARM, AGM-65 Maverick, ALQ-119 ECM pod, AGM-78 Standard ARM and AGM-45 Shrike, circa 1981. Credit: USAF via Wikimedia.

Wild Weasel is the code name given by the US Air Force, to an aircraft equipped with radar-seeking missiles and tasked with destroying the radars and SAM installations of enemy air defense systems. The Wild Weasel concept was developed by the United States Air Force in 1965, after the introduction of Soviet SAM missiles and their downing of U.S. strike aircraft over the skies of North Vietnam.

Wild Weasel tactics and techniques began their development in 1965 following the commencement of Operation “Rolling Thunder” during the Vietnam War, and were later adapted by other nations during following conflicts. In brief, the task of a Wild Weasel aircraft is to bait enemy anti-aircraft defenses into targeting it with their radars, whereupon the radar waves are traced back to their source allowing the Weasel or its teammates to precisely target it for destruction. A simple analogy is playing the game of "flashlight tag" in the dark; a flashlight is usually the only reliable means of identifying someone in order to "tag" (destroy) them, but the light immediately renders the bearer able to be identified and attacked as well. The result is a hectic game of cat-and-mouse in which the radar "flashlights" are rapidly cycled on and off in an attempt to identify and kill the target before the target is able to home in on the emitted radar "light" and destroy the site. The modern term used in the U.S. Armed Forces for this mission profile is "Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses", or SEAD.

The Wild Weasel mission was to precede strike flights, sanitizing the target area of radar guided Surface-to- Air Missiles, leaving the threat area last, which sometimes would result in 3.5-hour missions, before returning to their home base. The motto of “First In…Last out” was all part of the Weasel mission. The antiradiation missiles were fired by turning toward the air defense site in a threatening manner, firing radar homing missiles at the site, or visually locating the site to dive bomb it. These tactics were attempted while under attack by MiGs and anti-aircraft artillery.

Vietnam War tactics of utilizing "Hunter-Killer" teams, where an F-4 Wild Weasel would be teamed with one or more conventional F-4 Phantoms were improved upon with the newer equipment. The Wild Weasel would destroy missile radar emitters, clearing the way for the F-4's to destroy the rest of the missile site using cluster munitions.

A tactic used during Operation Desert Storm was known as "Here, kitty kitty", wherein one Weasel would get the attention of a SAM or anti-aircraft artillery site while other Weasels would then sneak up behind the site and destroy it.

Colonel (Ret) Rich Graham flew 210 combat mission in Vietnam. 145 missions were in the F-4D with the famous “Triple Nickel” squadron, the 555th Tactical Fighters Squadron, at Udorn, Thailand from April 1971 to April 1972. He then flew 65 combat missions in the F-4C Wild Weasel role from September 1972 to January 1973. It was the first time F-4C Wild Weasel aircraft were ever used in combat. He flew Wild Weasel missions over North Vietnam and participated in the bombing campaign of Hanoi to end the Vietnam War. It was called the “10 days of Christmas” of 1972. His military aviation awards include 3 Legion of Merit awards, 4 Distinguished Flying Cross medals and 19 Air Medals.

After 25 years in the Air Force, Col. Graham flew 13 years for American Airlines. He retired in August 2002 as a Captain on the MD-80 aircraft. He has accumulated over 14,000 flying hours. He now keeps busy as an author, speaker, aviation consultant, member of the FAAST team in Dallas and a local flight instructor. Col. Graham flew the SR-71 for seven years and has written five books on the Blackbird; they will be available to autograph and purchase after the presentation.

Date: Thursday 15 September 2016

Time: Tea served from 7pm. Talk starts at 7.30pm. Ends around 9pm following discussion.

Venue: Lecture Theatre 0, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ (directions).

Parking: There is limited parking available at the front of the site. There are further parking places at the rear.

Visitors welcome. Booking not required. RAeS members, students and young people free. Visitors (including IMechE members) who are not members of the RAeS will be invited to make a £5 donation.

A poster for this event can be downloaded here.

This event is organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society Cambridge branch.