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From: wb9omc@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Air considerations in Iraq
Message-ID: <1990Aug8.030420.25701@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 8 Aug 90 03:04:20 GMT
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From: wb9omc@ea.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick)

In keeping with Bill's request to keep this a BIT more technical, I
submit the following:

The idea of sending in B52's to blast targets in Iraq will work only
after first knocking the H*** out of the SAM sites.  B52's are a
sitting duck for SAM's due to factors like a sizeable Radar Cross
Section and goodly amount of heat for any IR seekers.

I would think it would be prudent to perform a night strike with the
F117a and some Anti Radiation Missiles, which could home in on the
radar pulses emitted by  the SAM radar and blast it, rendering the
whole thing useless.  We spent mega-bucks for these little guys
(the Nighthawks, that is) and I think it is about time we get some
of our investment returned by demostrating what they can REALLY do.

Aside from that, I would suspect that the F117a would also be a great
system to use for night oil-installation strikes, again, because of
its minimal radar returns.  Some of the "smart" laser and TV guided
bombs/missiles could be quite useful for surgically striking
said installations and inflicting minimum civilian casualties.
The F117a can be air-refueled by KC135's and KC10's based nearby
(I'd bet there are said critters in Saudi Arabia, Incirclik Turkey
if that's spelled right, and possibly in Israel) and could fly
from Israel, as the Israelis do a pretty good job at security for
their military.

BTW, it would not surprise me to find that the F117a can be recovered
on an aircraft carrier, but possibly not launched.  In the material
I am looking at these days I keep seeing references to a "tail hook"
that is ostensibly for runway cable arrests.  However, it would not
surprise me to find out that the same "tail hook" could also allow the
F117A to make a carrier landing - I would say though, it doesn't look
like the gear are carrier-optimized, so rough seas would probably rule
that out.

Deck landing capability would be extremely convienient in any operations
around the Persian gulf - and note that several carriers are either
in the area or are headed there.  Where are the F117a's?  Your guess
is as good as mine......

Duane