How ‘Wild Weasel’ missions became essential in the fight with Iran

As fighting with Iran restarted in early July, the U.S. Air Force sent more fighter jets to the Middle East. The F-16s and F-35s based in Germany and the United Kingdom carry out multiple missions, but are also capable of suppressing enemy air defense operations.

Those missions, also known as SEAD or “Wild Weasel” missions, have become central to U.S. operations in the Middle East, as the military has waged extensive air campaigns over enemy territory in recent years.

Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that the warplanes being sent include F-16s from the 480th Fighter Squadron based in Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany and F-35s from the 48th Fighter Wing based out of RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. For the ones from Spangdahlem, those include F-16s specializing in SEAD missions. Some of these aircraft had returned to Europe last month, as several fighter jets left the Middle East as fighting with Iran had paused.

Iran’s air defenses have been a major threat to American and Israeli aircraft. In the first week of the war, multiple Israeli drones were taken out. In March, an American F-35 was damaged and eventually forced to make an emergency landing. Alongside larger systems, small ground fire has also been a risk. One of the biggest incidents was on April 3, when a shoulder-fired missile took out an F-15E, prompting an extended combat search and rescue operation to recover the two crewmembers. An A-10 Thunderbolt II was also shot down during that operation.

SEAD missions are meant to reduce that risk. During the initial days of the war, the U.S. first gained local air superiority and then complete air superiority, according to retired Air Force Gen. Phil Breedlove. Breedlove, who led U.S. European Command and served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations from 2013 to 2016, told Task & Purpose that the Air Force has units whose primary mission is the suppression of enemy air defenses, and that the United States is “probably the only nation in the world that truly has these dedicated and highly capable SEAD assets.”

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Breedlove contrasted American SEAD operations with the struggles Russia has faced in its years-long war in Ukraine. Russian aircraft have failed to gain air superiority, resulting in several losses and some of their most advanced fighter jets being kept away from combat out of fear of being shot down.

The concept of “Wild Weasels” dates back to the Vietnam War. It initially involved fighter jets flying in first, serving as a target to draw out enemy SAMs. Pilots would evade enemy fire and then target those launch sites. As intelligence and surveillance systems have evolved, aircraft like the F-16 are armed with anti-radiation AGM-88 HARM missiles and electronic warfare systems. The military’s tools against air defenses have evolved, with electronic and cyber warfare capabilities. Those have been used in recent operations, including Iran and January’s raid in Venezuela.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Oscar Fernandez, 55th Fighter Generation Squadron weapons load crew member, guides Senior Airman Michael Kelly, 55th FGS weapons load crew member, as they load an AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) onto a F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft during the 2026 20th Fighter Wing Load Crew of the Year competition at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, Feb. 3, 2026. Weapons load crew members rely on clear communication, strict adherence to technical guidance and precise execution to ensure aircraft are armed with munitions quickly and correctly.. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mariana Tafur) Airmen with the 55th Fighter Generation Squadron load an AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) onto a F-16 in February 2026. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mariana Tafur. — Airmen with the 55th Fighter Generation Squadron load an AGM-88 high-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) onto a F-16 in February 2026. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mariana Tafur.

During Operation Rough Rider, the spring 2025 campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen, F-16s from the 480th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron had to deal with extensive air-defense systems around the city of Sana’a. They had the task of both escorting American bombers and flying low to take out surface-to-air missile sites. Pilots from the squadron received several awards, including two Silver Stars and a Distinguished Flying Cross, for their SEAD sorties, which included having to dodge multiple missiles targeting their fighter jets.

F-35s from the 34th Fighter Squadron also carried out Wild Weasel missions in Yemen, and later were part of the aerial armada that penetrated Iranian airspace and bombed Iranian nuclear installations. According to awards given this spring, those F-35s targeted SAM sites during Operation Midnight Hammer.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft takes off from a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility June 22, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Noah J. Tancer) — A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft takes off from a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility June 22, 2026. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Noah J. Tancer.

‘Nothing is static’

Breedlove noted that Iran uses several Russian and Chinese weapon systems and technology and still has several anti-air capabilities. American aircraft blew up several targets, but he noted that “nothing is static.”

“We had air superiority in Iran, we had air supremacy over the western half of the country,” Breedlove said. “But there were several down periods where they can reconstitute and rearm.”

That means the Wild Weasel missions don’t fully end, as new targets in new locations will emerge. Breedlove said he wasn’t surprised that these fighter jets were deployed to the Middle East this month. SEAD, he said, is not a “one-and-done thing.”