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| CENTAF releases airpower summaries for Aug. 20-21 |
| 2006-08-22 |
| SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released the airpower summary for Aug. 20 and 21. Aug. 21 In Afghanistan Aug. 20, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs provided close-air support for coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Asadabad. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a general purpose 500-pound bomb, ending the engagement. A-10s and Royal Air Force Harrier GR-7s provided close-air support for coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Musah Qal'eh. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds, general-purpose 500-pound bombs and Guided Bomb Unit-12s on enemy positions ending the engagement. Additionally, five U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Afghanistan. In total, coalition aircraft flew 28 close-air-support missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. These missions included support to coalition and Afghan troops, reconstruction activities and route patrols. In Iraq, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons provided close-air support to troops in contact with anti-Iraqi forces near Balad, Kirkuk and Mosul. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles provided close-air support to troops in contact with anti-Iraqi forces near Al Iskandariyah. Additionally, 15 Air Force, Navy and Royal Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. In total, coalition aircraft flew 44 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities. On Aug. 19, an Air Force rescue and medical crew on a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter flew one medical evacuation mission in support of OEF. Two U.S. servicemembers and one Afghan National Army patient with injuries requiring urgent care were evacuated as a result of this mission. Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster IIIs provided intra-theater heavy airlift support, helping sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. They flew 160 airlift sorties, delivered 550 tons of cargo and transported 2,880 passengers. This included more than 10,760 pounds of troop resupply and 8,220 pounds of humanitarian civil assistance airdropped in eastern Afghanistan. Coalition C-130 crews from Canada and Korea flew in support of either OIF or OEF. On Aug. 19, U.S., French and Royal Air Force tankers flew 40 sorties and off-loaded almost 2.4 million pounds of fuel. Aug. 20 In Afghanistan Aug. 19, an Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle conducted precision strikes on groups of Taliban extremists engaging coalition forces near Kandahar. A-10s and French Air Force M-2000s provided close-air support for coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Tarin Kowt. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a general-purpose 500-pound bomb on the extremists' location, ending the engagement. A B-1 Lancer provided close-air support for coalition troops taking small-arms and mortar fire from Taliban extremists near Khowst. The B-1 expended a GBU-31 and a GBU-38 on the mortar positions, ending the engagement. A-10s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Asadabad. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds, GBU-12s and general-purpose 500-pound bombs on the extremists' positions, ending the engagement. A-10s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Bagram. An A-10 expended a GBU-12 on an enemy cave complex, destroying the target and ending the engagement. A-10s, a B-1 and Royal Air Force GR-7s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Musah Qal'eh. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a general-purpose 500-pound bomb, and the B-1 expended GBU-38s. All munitions were deployed against enemy mortar positions, destroying the targets and ending the engagement. In a separate engagement near Musah Qal'eh, a B-1 expended GBU-31s and a GBU-38 on an enemy location while providing close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists. The B-1 destroyed the target and ended the engagement. In another engagement near Musah Qal'eh, A-10s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a GBU-12 on an extremist location, ending the engagement. A Predator UAV also provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Orgun-E. Additionally, seven Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Afghanistan. In total, coalition aircraft flew 29 close-air-support missions in support of OEF. These missions included support to coalition and Afghan troops, reconstruction activities and route patrols. In Iraq, F-16s provided close-air support to troops in contact with anti-Iraqi forces near Mosul. Additionally, 13 U.S., RAF and Royal Australian Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. In total, coalition aircraft flew 44 close-air-support missions for OIF. These missions included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities. C-130s and C-17s provided intra-theater heavy airlift support, helping sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. They flew 170 airlift sorties, delivered 370 tons of cargo and transported 3,500 passengers. This included more than 6,980 pounds of troop resupply airdropped in eastern Afghanistan. Coalition C-130 crews from Canada and Japan flew in support of either OIF or OEF. On Aug. 18, U.S., French and Royal Air Force tankers flew 37 sorties and off-loaded almost 2.4 million pounds of fuel. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #9 When you think about it, it's not really a great number of sorties Except for burning up long range transport assets. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-08-22 19:32 |
| #8 The left is just too blinded by their pussy fear to realize that we have the ME by the nuts. Could you expand on that idea, wxjames? I don't think I quite understand. Thanks! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-08-22 15:37 |
| #7 Don't kid yourself, they still want out of the A-10 business, but they know Congress would give them to the Army if they did and the worst thing that could happen to the AF is for the Army to have a fixed wing combat craft. That's why they're having fits over Army UAVs. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-22 14:54 |
| #6 And if memory serves, there was a time, in the not too distant past, the USAF wanted out of the A-10 busines. When you cut through all the crap, it boiled down to the fact that the Warthog wasn't sexy enough for the ascot boys. My my, how times have changed..... |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2006-08-22 14:14 |
| #5 When you think about it, it's not really a great number of sorties. However, the training value is priceless. And back home, the asshats, jerks, and complete idiots want to withdraw. Just the training value of these conflicts is worth extending the status quo for decades. The left is just too blinded by their pussy fear to realize that we have the ME by the nuts. In WW2, the Japanese lost their experienced pilots in the battle of Midway. The result was the Marianas turkey shoot. Experienced warplane pilots are hard and timely to replace. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-08-22 11:50 |
| #4 There's only one way to make the A-10 asthetically acceptable to pilots: add a SECOND cannon to make it look like a warthog that didn't lose a fight. Call it the A-20... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-08-22 07:34 |
| #3 It's pretty apperent the A-10 is the right airframe for the job of in close troop support. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-08-22 06:19 |
| #2 I like the parts that read..... "Ending the engagement" |
| Posted by: Oztralian 2006-08-22 03:27 |
| #1 Just read of DEFENSETECH.org USAF wants to extend service life of A10's [circa 300 planes]due to service needs. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-08-22 03:27 |