Lakenheath Airman lauded for 'cutting edge' efforts

  • Published
  • By Verla D. Davis
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England (AFPN) --  The AIM-9X Sidewinder is an air-to-air missile used by the F-15 Eagle at the 493rd Fighter Squadron here. It is a short-range, heat-seeking weapon used in both offensive and defensive counterair operations.

Sergeant Guerrero was involved in every aspect of field introduction of the AIM-9X and identified a number of improvements.

One of his improvements involved changing the way the umbilical cable and block connected the missile to the aircraft. Both were separate parts that had to be joined together and then connected to the aircraft. However, because the block was moved frequently, the cables could separate and eventually break, possibly resulting in a short in the missile because of the lost connection.

Sergeant Guerrero brought this to the attention of designers, and they redesigned the cable and block combining the parts into one piece.

“In the future, there won’t be anymore separations,” he said. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)