The AGR-20 APKWS II was extensively utilized in fight by Strike Eagles within the Center East, however these are the primary pictures to truly present an F-15E firing the laser-guided rockets throughout exams performed in Could 2025.
U.S. Air Pressure F-16s deployed to the CENTCOM (Central Command) AOR (Space of Accountability) have been using the APKWS (Superior Precision Kill Weapon System) II within the air-to-air function towards Houthi projectiles over the Pink Sea since 2024. The laser-guided APKWS II was an answer to the fee drawback entailed through the use of the bigger AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM, costing thousands and thousands of {dollars}, towards easy one-way assault drones, price not more than $15,000.
Integration of the APKWS II onto the F-15E started in Could 2025, when photos surfaced on-line displaying Strike Eagles from Eglin Air Pressure Base, Florida, flying in a wide range of configurations with LAU-131 rocket launchers.
As defined on the time, with six LAU-131 launchers the F-15E can carry 42 laser-guided rockets along with its customary loadout of eight air-to-air missiles, a payload that provides the jet as much as 50 alternatives to have interaction aerial targets even earlier than contemplating the gun, considerably rising its firepower and adaptability in fight.
The F-15E had been concerned in defending Israel towards Iran’s drone assaults in April 2024, when the restricted variety of obtainable air-to-air missiles proved to be a key constraint in countering the waves of hostile drones. An F-15E loaded with giant numbers of air-to-air rockets would have enabled longer and more practical counter-drone sorties and that is the rationale why the mixing was not sudden.
The work was efficiently accomplished, and the anti-drone configuration was employed extensively in fight by the F-15E Strike Eagles of the 366th Fighter Wing, as proven by the bomb markings carried by the jets returning to their dwelling bases from deployment within the Center East in July.
Solely just lately, nevertheless, did the Air Pressure launch extra particulars concerning the integration effort, together with photos displaying the F-15E throughout live-fire occasions carried out by the 96th Take a look at Wing and 53rd Wing at Eglin AFB.
The street to fielding the AGR-20F
The combination and demonstration marketing campaign, which included live-fire occasions towards land and maritime targets, was a part of an expedited push to provide the warfighter a direct new software for the counter-UAS struggle, the U.S. Air Pressure stated.
Simply days after the ultimate take a look at sorties at Eglin, Strike Eagles had been already flying operational missions with the AGR-20F.
“This was our high precedence,” Brig. Gen. Mark Massaro, 96th TW commander, stated. “The success got here from built-in teamwork, out-of-the-box pondering, and the flexibility to ship the potential in document time.”
The trouble started with a nine-month timeline however rapidly ran right into a materiel roadblock: no current option to mount the AGR-20F on an F-15. AFSEO engineers, with the 53rd Take a look at and Analysis Group, finally turned to legacy {hardware}, particularly Seventies-era TER-9A racks and LAU-131 launchers that had been slated for storage in Arizona. Engineers and maintainers modified and mounted the racks, then created a brand new interface to allow the Strike Eagle’s avionics to speak with the rockets.
To satisfy pressing operational demand, airworthiness assessments and demonstration flights ran in parallel. Massaro made the AGR-20F the bottom’s primary precedence, clearing the schedule for speedy testing. Inside three days of the order, F-15Es flown by the fortieth Flight Take a look at Squadron and eighty fifth and 422nd TES launched the weapon.
The built-in developmental and operational take a look at effort was managed by the F-15 Operational Flight Program Mixed Take a look at Pressure, which synchronized wings, main instructions, and program places of work to maintain the method shifting. Help models throughout the bottom accelerated logistics, vary entry, fueling, and mission planning to maintain the surge.
Inside 9 days, the workforce accomplished a course of that usually takes greater than a yr. Airmen then deployed with the tools to the AOR, coaching crews on employment and sustainment of the brand new weapon.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Entine, OFP CTF commander, summarized the trouble: “Our potential to choreograph a number of high-risk take a look at occasions and ship an entire product to the warfighter in 9 days as an alternative of 18 months reveals what Crew Eglin can do when tasked.”
Coping with the APKWS right here’s what we wrote in a earlier story right here at The Aviationist:
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Initially designed as a low-cost, laser-guided precision munition for air-to-ground targets, APKWS II was first examined for air-to-air use in 2019. It provides an inexpensive choice for participating slow-moving aerial threats akin to drones and cruise missiles. Throughout latest operations, F-16s have sometimes labored in pairs: one plane designated the goal utilizing the Sniper Superior Concentrating on Pod, whereas the opposite executed the assault run with the rockets.
In comparison with conventional air-to-air missile loadouts, the APKWS configuration allowed the F-16 to extend its engagement capability considerably. Whereas a typical load of AIM-9X and AIM-120 missiles provides six photographs, carrying one or two rocket pods with APKWS enabled the Viper to triple that quantity. This was achieved at a fraction of the fee as every APKWS rocket is estimated at round 30,000 USD, whereas an AIM-9X prices roughly 450,000 USD and an AIM-120 exceeds 1 million USD per unit. The tradeoff, nevertheless, is that APKWS rockets are solely efficient towards predictable targets with restricted maneuverability.
The loadout just lately examined on the F-15E takes the idea even additional. With six LAU-131 pods put in, the Strike Eagle can carry as much as 42 APKWS rockets along with its customary complement of eight air-to-air missiles. This provides the plane as much as 50 engagement alternatives earlier than even accounting for the inner gun. The structure additionally supplies larger operational flexibility: the Weapons Techniques Officer within the again seat can laser-designate targets utilizing the Sniper ATP whereas the pilot concentrates on the engagement, eliminating the necessity for paired operations like these performed with the F-16.
The combination of APKWS II on the Strike Eagle seems to be a logical evolution. Throughout the April 2024 Iranian drone assault towards Israel, F-15Es had been among the many plane tasked with intercepting the wave of incoming drones. One of many limiting elements throughout that operation was the restricted variety of air-to-air missiles obtainable to every jet. An F-15E outfitted with a high-capacity rocket loadout would considerably prolong the length and effectiveness of counter-UAS sorties.
APKWS II has already been fielded throughout a number of U.S. platforms, together with the USMC’s AV-8B Harrier and F/A-18C/D Hornets, AH-1Z Vipers and UH-1Y Venoms, the USAF’s A-10Cs and F-16s, the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R/S helicopters, and the U.S. Military’s AH-64D/E Apaches.
The APKWS II relies on the Hydra 70 unguided rocket and incorporates a laser steerage package between the warhead and the rocket motor. This low-cost modification transforms a easy unguided munition right into a precision weapon. The system makes use of 4 pop-out wings with laser-seeker optics, referred to as the Distributed Aperture Semi-Energetic Laser Seeker (DASALS), which offer vast field-of-view monitoring for each stationary and shifting targets.
To additional improve its counter-UAS capabilities, the APKWS underwent an improve below the Mounted Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Plane Techniques Ordnance (FALCO) program. The AGR-20 FALCO model consists of up to date software program that improves its efficiency in air-to-air roles. This variant is already in use throughout the CENTCOM space of duty and has demonstrated a excessive chance of kill in operational situations.
As well as, BAE Techniques has revealed a brand new infrared seeker for the APKWS II, complementing the laser steerage and making the rocket a dual-mode weapon. This enhancement builds upon the FALCO improve and is predicted to additional enhance the Air Pressure’s potential to counter a variety of aerial threats.
