Direct proof of use
The F-4G Wild Weasel is directly documented in the 1990 Gulf War through U.S. Air Force museum, unit-history, and historical-study sources. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force identifies a 35th Tactical Fighter Wing F-4G that launched more than 40 missiles during Operation Desert Storm from 17 January to 28 February 1991, and describes the F-4G mission as attacking enemy air defenses, including surface-to-air missile radar sites.
Misawa Air Base's 35th Fighter Wing history places the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) at Shaikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain, says U.S. Central Command relied heavily on its Wild Weasels for suppression of enemy air defenses, and credits F-4G aircrews with firing 905 missiles at Iraqi targets. An Air Force Historical Research Agency study separately describes F-4Gs firing HARM missiles at Iraqi SAM sites as part of Desert Storm strike packages.
Sources: McDonnell Douglas F-4G Wild Weasel | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, 35th Fighter Wing History, USAF Manned Aircraft Combat Losses Since 1990
Combat chronology
The documented Gulf War combat period for the F-4G begins with the opening of the Operation Desert Storm air campaign on 17 January 1991. A Misawa Air Base 35th Wing guide says 28 F-4G Wild Weasels preceded the initial fighter-bomber wave into target areas after drone decoys induced Iraqi air-defense emissions, and that another 41 Wild Weasels flew escort missions later that day.
The same guide reports that those first-day missions launched 123 AGM-88 HARM missiles and opened gaps in Iraq's integrated air-defense system. By the end of the campaign, the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) had flown 3,072 sorties and more than 10,000 hours, with official Misawa histories crediting its Wild Weasel force with destroying or suppressing 254 radar sites.
Sources: Misawa Air Base Newcomers Guide - 35th Fighter Wing History, 35th Fighter Wing, 35th Fighter Wing History
Operational role
The F-4G's role was coalition suppression and destruction of Iraqi air defenses. Its two-seat crew and AN/APR-47 electronic-warfare equipment were used to locate and attack radar threats, while AGM-88 HARM missiles gave F-4G crews a dedicated anti-radiation weapon for SAM radars. The Air Force museum also describes the F-4G working with other F-4Gs or acting as a hunter aircraft that directed fighter-bombers such as the F-16 against SAM sites.
A July 1991 Air Force Association article by a deployed Wild Weasel/F-16 pilot describes the 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron operating from Turkey against Iraqi targets and explains why F-4G coverage became central to strike-package planning. The article says the F-4G's APR-47 system could provide real-time target information to HARM, and that F-16 HARM employment depended on the F-4G's ability to see, locate, range, and pass emitter data.
As Iraqi radar operators reduced emissions after the opening phase, F-4G and mixed Wild Weasel teams still served as protection for strike aircraft and shifted some effort toward destroying air-defense sites and related targets. The Air Force Historical Research Agency study describes the overall package concept: F-15s, E-3s, EF-111s, EC-130s, and F-4Gs worked together, with F-4Gs firing HARMs at SAM sites to reduce attrition among attacking aircraft.
Sources: McDonnell Douglas F-4G Wild Weasel | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, The Weasels at War, USAF Manned Aircraft Combat Losses Since 1990
