AFMC Command News

AFMC delivers capability that helps take out Zarqawi

  • Published
  • By Air Force Materiel Command
  • Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The Air Force’s latest contribution to the ongoing Global War on Terrorism took center stage June 7 when an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house north of Baghdad killed terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, head of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Air Force Materiel Command developed, acquired, tested and continues to sustain weapon systems used in the strike, including reconnaissance assets. Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, said AFMC’s work force should be proud of its role in the Global War on Terror.

“While it was a fighter pilot who pushed the ‘pickle’ button to release the precision weapons that took out this notorious leader, the fingerprints of AFMC men and women coat the weapon systems involved. It takes ‘One Materiel Command’ — technology development, test, acquisition and sustainment — to give our warfighters what they need every day to execute the Global War on Terror,” General Carlson said.

Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons were involved in the coalition effort. The aircraft, assigned to U.S. Central Command Air Forces, dropped two precision-guided 500-pound bombs, a GBU-12 laser-guided bomb and a GBU-38 joint direct attack munition.

AFMC’s F-16 Systems Group ensures the multi-role fighter’s combat capabilities meet the warfighters' cost, schedule, and performance expectations. The Group falls under the Fighter Attack Systems Wing which, in turn, is part of the Aeronautical Systems Center. All are located at Wright-Patterson AFB. ASC, one of AFMC’s three product centers, delivers combat capabilities to the warfighter. Among ASC’s major acquisition programs are fighter, bomber, mobility/transport, reconnaissance, special operations and trainer weapon systems.

AFMC is also responsible for testing all new weapon systems and follow-on upgrades. Testing is carried out primarily at Eglin AFB, Fla., Arnold AFB, Tenn., and Edwards AFB, Calif.

Munitions carried by the F-16s originated at AFMC’s Air Armament Center, another AFMC product center. Located at Eglin AFB, the center tripled its production of Joint Direct Attack Munitions to provide a sufficient inventory for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The center is home to more than 40 weapon systems. These range from the Small Diameter Bomb to the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile.

Sustaining the F-16 falls to the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah. One of AFMC’s three air logistics centers, Ogden provides logistics, support, maintenance, distribution and engineering management for the F-16 as well as other aircraft and munitions.

“The coalition’s successful air attack on terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is a marvelous example of air power’s ability to deliver rapid, precise and lethal effects in a highly complex joint and coalition environment,” said General Carlson.