ORAC
27th Jan 2003, 14:03
The Times - January 27: RAF puts bombers on standby for Gulf.
RAF bomber squadrons in Britain have been put on a fornight’s notice to leave for the Gulf to prepare for an air campaign against Iraq. A total of at least 60 aircraft, armed with precision-guided weapons developed since the last war with Baghdad, are expected to be prepared for duty. They include squadrons of Tornado GR4, Jaguar and Harrier GR7 bombers, to air defence aircraft, reconnaissance planes and air-refuelling tankers.
Although the size of the bomber fleet is the same as that in the 1991 Gulf war, it will have considerably greater firepower and will this time be able to operate in all-weather conditions.
Ministers are expected to announce the “air package” to complete Britain’s military build-up for a war in a Commons statement next week.
Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, last week announced the deployment of a ground force of 26,000 troops, and gave details three weeks ago of the deployment of a huge maritime task force, including 4,000 Royal Marine commandos.
Britain already has 21 aircraft in the Gulf region and Turkey, assigned to the two no-fly zone operations over northern and southern Iraq: four Jaguars in a reconnaissance role at Incirlik in Turkey, supported by two VC10 tankers, eight Tornado GR4s in Kuwait, six Tornado F3 air defence aircraft in Saudi Arabia, and one TriStar tanker in Bahrain. The total number of RAF personnel in the different locations is 1,130.
The air package is expected to triple the number of RAF servicemen and women deployed in the region. They will include specialists from RAF Regiment squadrons who will be responsible for guarding the bases, armed with Rapier surface-to-air missile systems.
In 1991, Tornado GR1s, armed with JP233 runway-denial bombs, had to fly at low level to try and knock out Iraqi air bases. For higher-level laser-guided bombing operations, the Tornados had to team up with Buccaneers for a combined firing mission, the latter aircraft equipped with laser pods to direct the bombs to their targets.
Now the upgraded Tornado, the GR4, is armed with enhanced Paveway II and Paveway III bombs which are guided by the satellite-linked Global Positioning System, ensuring all-weather targeting. The Jaguars, while currently in a reconnaissance role over northern Iraq, can be armed with laser-guided Paveway bombs, although they are not configurated for the GPS model.
The Harrier GR7, the ground-attack version of the famous jump-jet aircraft is capable of launching missions from makeshift runways at close quarters to the enemy. It is also equipped with the new precision-guided Maverick missile, bought from the Americans after the Kosovo campaign in 1999 when RAF aircraft were often unable to drop bombs because of thick cloud.
Like the United States, the Government is hoping that Turkey will allow aircraft reinforcements to be based at Incirlik. If approved, Tornado GR4s from bases in Britain such as RAF Marham in Norfolk and Harrier GR7s from RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, could be flown out to Turkey for attacks on Iraq from the north.
Other aircraft expected to be included in the air package are Tornado F3s, now armed with Asraam, a new advanced air-to-air missile, E3 Awacs early warning aircraft, Nimrod R1 surveillance planes, the Canberra PR9, the oldest plane in the RAF which has state-of-the-art cameras on board for photographing enemy movements, and TriStar and VC10 refuelling tankers.
In the war in Afghanistan, the US Navy relied on the British tankers because they have the right nozzle for mid-air refuelling.
The RAF’s four C17 Globemaster transport aircraft, leased for seven years from Boeing, are already being used to ferry troops and equipment to the Gulf, as are the C130 Hercules aircraft.
RAF bomber squadrons in Britain have been put on a fornight’s notice to leave for the Gulf to prepare for an air campaign against Iraq. A total of at least 60 aircraft, armed with precision-guided weapons developed since the last war with Baghdad, are expected to be prepared for duty. They include squadrons of Tornado GR4, Jaguar and Harrier GR7 bombers, to air defence aircraft, reconnaissance planes and air-refuelling tankers.
Although the size of the bomber fleet is the same as that in the 1991 Gulf war, it will have considerably greater firepower and will this time be able to operate in all-weather conditions.
Ministers are expected to announce the “air package” to complete Britain’s military build-up for a war in a Commons statement next week.
Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, last week announced the deployment of a ground force of 26,000 troops, and gave details three weeks ago of the deployment of a huge maritime task force, including 4,000 Royal Marine commandos.
Britain already has 21 aircraft in the Gulf region and Turkey, assigned to the two no-fly zone operations over northern and southern Iraq: four Jaguars in a reconnaissance role at Incirlik in Turkey, supported by two VC10 tankers, eight Tornado GR4s in Kuwait, six Tornado F3 air defence aircraft in Saudi Arabia, and one TriStar tanker in Bahrain. The total number of RAF personnel in the different locations is 1,130.
The air package is expected to triple the number of RAF servicemen and women deployed in the region. They will include specialists from RAF Regiment squadrons who will be responsible for guarding the bases, armed with Rapier surface-to-air missile systems.
In 1991, Tornado GR1s, armed with JP233 runway-denial bombs, had to fly at low level to try and knock out Iraqi air bases. For higher-level laser-guided bombing operations, the Tornados had to team up with Buccaneers for a combined firing mission, the latter aircraft equipped with laser pods to direct the bombs to their targets.
Now the upgraded Tornado, the GR4, is armed with enhanced Paveway II and Paveway III bombs which are guided by the satellite-linked Global Positioning System, ensuring all-weather targeting. The Jaguars, while currently in a reconnaissance role over northern Iraq, can be armed with laser-guided Paveway bombs, although they are not configurated for the GPS model.
The Harrier GR7, the ground-attack version of the famous jump-jet aircraft is capable of launching missions from makeshift runways at close quarters to the enemy. It is also equipped with the new precision-guided Maverick missile, bought from the Americans after the Kosovo campaign in 1999 when RAF aircraft were often unable to drop bombs because of thick cloud.
Like the United States, the Government is hoping that Turkey will allow aircraft reinforcements to be based at Incirlik. If approved, Tornado GR4s from bases in Britain such as RAF Marham in Norfolk and Harrier GR7s from RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire, could be flown out to Turkey for attacks on Iraq from the north.
Other aircraft expected to be included in the air package are Tornado F3s, now armed with Asraam, a new advanced air-to-air missile, E3 Awacs early warning aircraft, Nimrod R1 surveillance planes, the Canberra PR9, the oldest plane in the RAF which has state-of-the-art cameras on board for photographing enemy movements, and TriStar and VC10 refuelling tankers.
In the war in Afghanistan, the US Navy relied on the British tankers because they have the right nozzle for mid-air refuelling.
The RAF’s four C17 Globemaster transport aircraft, leased for seven years from Boeing, are already being used to ferry troops and equipment to the Gulf, as are the C130 Hercules aircraft.