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177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron
184th Tactical Fighter Group - Flight of 2 F-4D Phantom IIs
177th TFTS F-4D Phantoms, about 1988
Active 1984–Present
Country Flag of the United States United States
Allegiance Flag of Kansas Kansas
Branch US-AirNationalGuard-2007Emblem Air National Guard
Type Squadron
Role ISR
Part of Kansas Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas
Insignia
177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron emblem 177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron - Emblem

The 177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron (178 IWAS) is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard 184th Intelligence Wing stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas. The 177th is a non-flying squadron which trains in cyber warfare.

Overview[]

The mission of the squadron is to attack American military networks, to discover vulnerabilities before a real enemy does.

The Information Warfare Aggressor role is similar to the "tiger teams" commercial firms hire (and the air force pioneered) to test the defenses of corporate networks. The two aggressor squadrons have increased the quality and quantity of attacks that can be launched against U.S. systems, to see how well the defenses hold up. Members of the squadron then analyze the results of their attack. Finally, the aggressor hackers tell the sysadmins and other concerned personnel of the target unit what they did wrong, and why.

History[]

On 1 February 1984, the 177th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron was established with the unit flying F-4D Phantom IIs as a formal training unit (FTU) and conducting its first student training class. Converted to F-16A/B in 1990 and F-16C/D in 1992. Inactivated on 1 August 1994 when the F-16s were withdrawn from McConnell, being replaced by B-1Bs.

Lineage[]

  • Designated 177th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and allotted to Kansas ANG, on 1 February 1984
Extended federal recognition on 1 February 1984
Re-designated: 177th Fighter Squadron, 16 March 1992
Inactivated on 1 August 1994
  • Re-designated: 177th Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron and activated, 1 April 2008

Assignments[]

Stations[]

Aircraft[]

References[]

PD-icon This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  • Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. ISBN 1-85780-197-0


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