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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Fighter Wing(+) Deploys 84 F-16s To Iraq | |
| 2006-01-13 | |
| Coinciding with increased tensions with Iran over the resumption of illicit uranium enrichment, the U.S. Air Force has dispatched additional warplanes to the region in a not-so-subtle sign, military sources say. An entire wing of F-16s, the Air National Guard's 122nd Fighter Wing based in Fort Wayne, Ind., left for a base in southwest Asia on Tuesday. A wing is usually about 72 aircraft and several hundred support personnel. F-16s and support personnel from the 4th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, also deployed recently to Iraq. The squadron has 12 F-16s. Both units' F-16s could be used in any military operation to take out Iranian nuclear facilities. A spokesman for the U.S. Central Command Air Forces, which runs air operations in the region, said the F-16 deployment of about 80 jets is part of a rotation and is not related to Iran's uranium reprocessing.
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| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #23 49 Pan, you have a vicious sense of.... I'm not sure what. Well said! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-01-13 22:05 |
| #22 It would be a great signal to the world for the US to take Iran down with the National Guard. I think it would be the first case in American history of a Guard unit Destroying a country, and a nice payback for the guards efforts in WOT. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-13 20:26 |
| #21 Is there a list anywhere (public) of scheduled rotations? Which units are going next? Thx. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2006-01-13 18:28 |
| #20 Unfortunately, I doubt they in particular would depart which much fanfare, so unless you stumble on some local news item... |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-01-13 17:45 |
| #19 ..The unit you want to keep an eye on is the 20 FW at Shaw AFB, SC - they are the 'Wild Weasel' units for the Persian Gulf. If they go - in squadron strength or more - fight's on. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-01-13 17:13 |
| #18 What about those glow in the dark Korean pigs? A question: If Iranians' nuke facilities are blasted, wouldn't any bomb assessment team be at risk of exposure to massive amounts of radioactive material? |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2006-01-13 17:07 |
| #17 LTOP - that's why I am lobbying for rabid ferrets and snakes... They can soften it up prior to actual action and operate quite well in caves without operators. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-01-13 14:29 |
| #16 Haven't followed the details of recent equipment, but the earlier cave exploration bots were teleoperated via cables IIRC due to radio reception problems inside all that granite. Similar issues likely to be true in shielded tunnels .... |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 14:17 |
| #15 Hard to fly 'em into those tunnels, unless it's the backpack Ravens or such -- and that means a team nearby .... Hmmmmm.... A heavier UAV that carriers a parachute-equipped rover. The UAV drops the rover near the target structure, then orbits high, acting as a comm relay. You may not be able to retrieve the rover, but you could use something cheap and simple so you don't really care. Make them light enough, and the UAV could carry more than one, either to let you look in different areas or as a reserve. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-01-13 14:04 |
| #14 From a June 02, 2005 Korea Times article I printed, but can't find the URL for: US Deploying 15 Stealth Fighters to S. Korea By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The Pentagon is deploying 15 F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters and 250 airmen this week from its air force base in New Mexico in the U.S. to the Korean Peninsula, the U.S Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday. The 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico Monday announced the deployment of about 250 air crew and support personnel, along with the stealths, and the USFK said. The F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters are expected to be deployed to either U.S. air bases in Osan or Kunsan, said Kim Yong-kyu, a public relations official at the USFK. ``The current deployment of the stealths is not related to the current situation surrounding Pyongyang's nuclear threat, Kim quoted USFK spokeswoman MaryAnn Cummings as saying. ``This is a routine deployment of a U.S. air force unit for training and familiarization. However, the U.S. move drew attention as it came as tensions are continuing to escalate over the communist regime's possible nuclear test, worsening prospects of an early resumption of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear weapons program. ``The deployment is part of an ongoing measure to maintain a credible deterrent posture and presence in the region,'' said a news release from the air force base. Speculations over a possible contingency plan against the North by the U.S. have arisen since the U.S. military is beefing up its military capabilities in the Pacific region, by repositioning its sophisticated fighter jets and Navy vessels. Last February, the U.S. deployed B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and F-15E fighter jets in Guam, the range to strike North Korea's nuclear facilities in case of an emergency, according to the Stars and Stripes, a U.S. army newspaper published in Seoul. got the date wrong in the previous comment - it was June of last year for the Nighthawks and one year ago for the B-2s. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 13:57 |
| #13 Understood. But those deployments were announced by DOD at the time. They were INTENDED to be public - as the bitter reaction out of Pyongyang proves. The NORKs weren't happy one little bit about those deployments and said so loudly at the time. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 13:54 |
| #12 Be careful with what you say. Loose lips and all of that. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-01-13 13:52 |
| #11 I wonder if they will announce some "pre-planned deployments" of heavy bombers today to arrive in theater next week. I wonder if there have been any basing changes since we deployed 15 F-117 Nighthawks from the 49th bomber wing to So. Korea a year ago and some B-2s to Guam a year before that ... |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 13:50 |
| #10 whahahhaa...very true indeed. Subterranean is sure another issue. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-13 13:49 |
| #9 Hard to fly 'em into those tunnels, unless it's the backpack Ravens or such -- and that means a team nearby .... Ditto for the robots the Army sends into caves in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 13:44 |
| #8 Gun cams or UAV's would be safest alternative to potentially costly team insertions. Insertion or infiltration (INFIL) is usually pretty simple. One must remember that Murphy is always along for the ride, and it's the exfiltration (EXFIL) that can get badly buggered up. We've been down both roads in Iran, i.e., pre-UAV Desert One and other locs. I'm a UAV fan myself. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-13 13:42 |
| #7 Agreed that it's BDA, Besoerker. Just wondered what airframe was favored for team insertion in circumstances like this - assuming it isn't done by SOCOM instead. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 13:25 |
| #6 For some reason, a "pre-planned deployment" announced 14 days ago... I also note that this is their largest deployment since 1961. I wonder if they will announce some "pre-planned deployments" of heavy bombers today to arrive in theater next week. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-01-13 13:18 |
| #5 lotp: Used to call it BDA (bomb damage assessment). Now I believe referred to as "kinetic effects." |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-13 13:16 |
| #4 If things get hot, I would expect a wing like this one to be patrolling places like the Syrian border rather than into Iran itself. That would free up newer planes, including the strike eagles, to escort stealthed bombers into the places they need to go. If we have any marines reading this thread - don't you all also practice rapid insertion of small inspection teams right after raids, to verify complete destruction of the target? Do you do that using F-16s or other airframes? |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-13 13:12 |
| #3 "No word, one way or the other however, on whether the unit they are replacing is returning right away or hanging around in-theater for a while." Ahh... let's hope they hang around for the upcoming fireworks! |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2006-01-13 13:10 |
| #2 That pesky insurgent air wing still requires suppression. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-01-13 12:43 |
| #1 No worries, just a routine summer camp training event. They were falling just slightly behind on flight hours. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-01-13 12:29 |