Air Force Bringing Back William Tell Weapons Meet in March

Air Combat Command will hold its distinguished William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet in March after it was postponed last year.

Hundreds of Airmen from ACC, Pacific Air Forces, and the Air National Guard competed in the last iteration of the competition in 2023, which ended a 19-year hiatus for the famous contest named after the Swiss folk hero and legendary archer. With a rich history dating back to the 1950s, the biannual event provides a unique opportunity for the best fighter pilots and aviators to square off against each other in a series of demanding air-to-air combat scenarios.

The success of the 2023 event led Air Force leaders to plan another edition in September 2025, but it had to be postponed “due to budget challenges and current events,” an ACC spokesperson said. This year’s event is scheduled to be held March 6–15 at the Air Dominance Center in Savannah, Ga.

William Tell 2026 will add F-16 Fighting Falcons to the list of F-35 Lightning II, F-22 Raptor, F-15 Strike Eagle fighters competing in the event.

In 2023, the air combat events ranged from one-on-one basic fighter maneuvers, or “dogfighting,” to teams made up of a dozen F-22s, F-35s, and F-15s flying against up to 40 adversaries. There was also a gunnery contest that had competitors fire their aircraft machine guns at a banner being towed by a Learjet.

But William Tell isn’t just about testing the flying skills of pilots. Ground crews compete in events to assess efficiency in loading weapons, maintaining aircraft, and intelligence operations. 

“Air superiority is inherently human; it is forged by the grit, precision, and professionalism of our Airmen,” Brig. Gen. Brian Laidlaw, ACC director of operations, said in the announcement. “William Tell is an opportunity for ‘iron to sharpen iron,’ driving our Airmen to evolve, solve problems quickly, strengthen their bonds and demonstrate lethality under pressure in a realistic environment.”

“This competition brings our legacy of risk-taking, innovation and excellence through today, ensuring we remain ready to dominate and prevail,” Laidlaw said.

From 1954 to 1996, William Tell was a biennial competition, but budget cuts in the wake of the Cold War ended the practice in 1996, with the exception of a 2004 revival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first contest. The competition was resurrected in 2023 to reintroduce high-end competitions to help prepare aircrews for a future conflict with potential adversaries such as China or Russia.

“The spirit that we have in competition against one another, when we have the opportunities to do so, is that same spirit that will bring us together as a team when it comes time for us to fight our adversaries,” Brig. Gen. D. Micah “Zeus” Fesler, William Tell Air Expeditionary Wing commander, said in 2023. “There is an incredible value in healthy competition, and it is truly what makes us great as an Air Force.”