B-52s, B-2s and B-1s deployed together for first time
The US Air Force is broadening the use of its bomber fleet by combining for the first time the BoeingB-52H, Northrop Grumman B-2 and Rockwell B-1 as a single package to strike multiple targets simultaneously in the Baghdad area. The aircraft are also providing tactical support for coalition ground forces.
"For the first time we have used all three bombers in one package at the same time," says Lt Col Kevin Anderson, chief Master Air Attack Plan (MAAP), of the USAF's Combined Air Operations Center, Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia. "Each aircraft has a large payload allowing us to put a lot of weapons on target at the same time. There is also the psychological effect of having all three bombers over a target at once," he adds.
Careful planning and co-ordination allowed the use of multiple bombers of different types, all armed primarily with GPS-aided precision-guided munitions (PGMs), compressed within a single time-on-target window.
MAAP's role is to group aircraft into strike packages, and match up suitable target lists with the type of weapons to be used. The bombers, with their ability to carry multiple PGMs, each capable of being independently guided, have been assigned targets with multiple aimpoints, such as command and control complexes. "When we're looking at targets in the Baghdad area, we're looking at the capability of the aircraft, their range, refuelling and types of weapons they carry," says Capt Joshua Lavin, chief MAAP, targets.
While MAAP pre-plans many bomber operations 36-48h ahead of the strike, aircraft are also being armed to simultaneously fly tactical missions against targets of opportunity. During one B-52 mission, six CBU-105 sensor-fuzed weapon dispensers were used in combat for the first time against Iraqi tanks, south of Baghdad. "We have the capability to handle a lot of different options and this is happening every night," says Anderson.
Source: Flight International
