creenshots. Enjoy. H.A.W.X: A Brief History
The "High Altitude Warfare -- Experimental Squadron" (or "H.A.W.X") traces its origins to 1943. In the midst of the Second World War, the United States
initiated a program to acquire, evaluate and reverse-engineer enemy aircraft. Headquartered near Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base), it operated in conjunction with the OSS and the British Royal Air Force and was dubbed Project FALCO (Foreign Aircraft and Logistics Capture Operations).
FALCO managed covert field operations teams in every major combat theater of the war. These teams were a maverick combination of engineers, linguists, enemy defectors -- and of course, some of the Allies' most skilled and unorthodox combat-hardened pilots. As the war progressed, these aviators were frequently called up on by Allied High Command to put their skills to the test, using captured aircraft to insert covert agents and commando teams behind enemy lines and flying some of the most secret combat missions of the entire war.
With the war drawing to a close, FALCO teams became involved in targeted efforts to obtain specific enemy technologies. Allied forces took custody of numerous Axis scientists, pilots and engineers, and captured a veritable treasure trove of advanced aircraft.
In 1950, amid well-publicized USAF speculation that the enemy aircraft of WWII having given up their secrets, FALCO was officially 'shut down' by the US Department of Defense.
Except of course, it wasn't. With the realization that combat aviation was evolving into supersonic engagements at high altitudes with nuclear bombers and missile-armed interceptors, FALCO personnel, projects and facilities were simply re-organized into the "High Altitude Warfare" (H.A.W.) group.
Positioned as an element of Tactical Air Command (later Air Combat Command), this secret group works under the guise of the 24th Test and Evaluation Squadron. In an effort to further hide the operational aspects of the unit, it was officially re-named High Altitude Warfare - Experimental Squadron, or H.A.W.-X (The "X" being the US military designation for "Experimental"). With time, the abbreviation was shortened to just H.A.W.X
The squadron's elite fighter pilots are recruited from the most experienced and skilled combat veterans of the USAF, USN and USMC flight squadrons. The most highly-trained combat pilots in the world, they gain experience on all upcoming aircraft and weapon systems during the testing phase, helping refine designs and becoming the first to use them in combat should the nation require it. Capable of piloting virtually any aircraft from any branch of the US Military, in addition to many foreign designs, they are the 'top breed' of military pilots on Earth.