1993 Operations after the war

02 Jan 93 An Iraqi AF MiG-25 Foxbat attempted an intercept on a United Nations (USAF) U-2

surveillance aircraft high over Iraq. The ACRID missile failed to hit the aircraft.

Pentagon release 14Jan93. Also said to be chased off by F-15's

07 Jan 93 Iraq said that its army was ready for battle as the Western allies' deadline approached for it to move anti-aircraft missiles from there locations below the 32nd parallel in southern Iraq. Meanwhile, U.S. forces in the Gulf geared up for

possible hostilities. (Reuter)

F-16s and F-111s are among the U.S. aircraft standing ready in the Middle East as the deadline nears in an ultimatum presented to Saddam Hussein. Iraq has been told to relocate surface-to-air missiles by 4:30 p.m. our time today. (New York Times News Service)

The U.S. has urged its allies to join in threatening Iraq with military action if Baghdad does not remove newly deployed surface-to-air missiles that menace allied warplanes patrolling southern Iraq. (New York Times)

IRAQ DEADLINE -- Iraq is rejecting the allied coalition's 48-hour ultimatum demanding that Baghdad remove surface-to-air missiles from the UN-designated "no fly" zone in southern Iraq. (Reuter) One of Kuwait's border posts was attacked for two hours late Tuesday by Iraqi government forces. (Reuter)

09 Jan 93 End of 48 hour ultimatum given on the 6th giving Iraq 48 hours (5:30pm EST)

13 Jan 93 US and Allied Aircraft hit targets in Iraq within the No-Fly Zone (below the 32° parallel). Total strike force included around 115 aircraft, total time over targets was less than 15 minutes. Strikes occur during the night 13-14 January from 21:15 pm

v Targets were considered to be:

- 04 x Air Defense Command & Control Centers

- 02 x Concentrations of SAM's

- all located between Kut and Basra

- 17 x separate "aim-points"

v 110 total aircraft: 70 x USAF, 30 x USN, 10 x allied

v 40 x Strike Aircraft hit the targets (15 minutes over he target)

- 04 of 6 x British Tornado GR-1 with FLIR & TIALD Laser Designators

- 06 x French Mirage 2000 strike fighters for CAP

- 06 x F-1117A's from the 49th FW

- 04 x F-16C's (Blk 42) with LANTIRN (33rd FS/363 rd FW)

- 04 x F-16C iron bombs

- 04 x F-111F with PAVE TACK

- 10 x F-15E with LANTIRN (335th FS/4th FW)

- 08 x F-15C Eagles (1st FW)

- 30 x aircraft from the Kitty Hawk Air Wing

... 08 x A-6E with TRAM and LGB's (VA-52)

... 06 x F/A-18C Ford Philco Pods + bombs (VFA-27/97)

... 04 x F-14A+ for CAP (VF-51/114)

... 02 x F/A-18C CAP (VFA-27/97)

... 02 x E-2C

v 70 x Support Aircraft

- 2 x British Victor Tankers

- 2 x Saudi Air Force Tankers

- 7 x KC-135

- 7 x KC-10

- 4 x HC-130

- 2 x E-2C Hawkeye

- 2 x E-3A AWACS

- 3 x EF-111A

- 6 x F-4G Wild Weasel

- 3 x EA-6B

- 1 x S-3B ESM Support

- 4 x F/A-18C with HARM

- 2 x RC-135

- 1 x EP-3

- 4 x MH-53

v Radar Stations and Integrated Air Operations Centers at:

- Tallil Air Base (near Nasiriya)

- Al Amara

- Najaf

- Samawah

v 4 x mobile anti-aircraft SAM/AAA sites, hit one

v Kitty Hawk pilots saw at least 4 x SAM's fired

- Cmdr Kevin Thomas, CO F/A-18 Sqdn

- Cmdr Rick Hess, CO VA-52, A-6E Sqdn

- LCdr Micheal Shea, EA-6B pilot

- Capt Micheal J. McCamish

v Aerospace Daily (1/15/93) said that most targets were missed

- of the four mobile air defense batteries struck, only one was destroyed, one remained intact, and two were packed and moved

- fixed C3I sites were hit with poor results, but the air defense net

was put off the air

- 06 x F-117's hit two of six aim-points with four misses/no drops

> 2 x a/c lost laser lock capability

> 1 x pilot could not see the target for positive ID

> 1 x pilot hit the wrong target

- 10 x F-15E's scored eight of ten aim-points (80%)

> 1 x F-15E dropped long for a miss

> 1 x F-15E returned with ordnance due to low cloud cover

- A-6 & F-18's hit 7 of 14 aim-points (50%)

16 Jan 93 Iraq threatens to down coalition aircraft if tension continues

17 Jan 93 US Navy ships in both the Persian Gulf and Red Sea launch 45 x Tomahawk Cruise Missiles at the Zaafaraniya Nuclear Fabrication and Industrial Complex 8 miles

southwest (13km) of Bagdad proper

v missiles are sent over Bagdad to register on radar significant known locations from the four launching ships (BGM-109's)

v one missile is hit by AAA and crashes into the Al Rasheed Hotel

v 37 of the 45 fired (82%) hit their intended targets

- 1 x missile fell into the sea after launch

- 3 x missiles fell short of their targets

- 3 x landed inside the complex but did not destroy everything

- 1 x was shot down by AAA and hit the Hotel Rasheed (killed 2)

v Iraq says it downed the 8 x missiles

v All 7 x targeted buildings were hit

An F-16C Falcon downs a MiG-29 north of the 36° Parallel with 2 x AMRAAM's

v F-16C Blk 30 (86-0262) 23rd FS "Hawks", 52nd FW

v Deployed with the 7440th Composite Wing at Incirlik

v Aerospace Daily (1/20/93) said the target was a MiG-29 Fulcrum

v 2 x AMRAAM's were reported utilized

v MiG-29 and a MiG-23 wingman and it was the MiG-23 that was reported killed in the original press releases

18 Jan 93 First daylight bombing raids in the South against Nawaf, destroying one radar at Samawa, and damaging one building at Tallil Air Base. US and British Strike Aircraft

are escorted by French fighters.

v Targets are Commadn and Control Facilities and SAM Sites in the South

> Tallil Air Defense Center hit during the night

v 75 x aircraft package was reduced to 69 when some SAM's were pulled out

v 10 x F-15E's, 4 x F-16C's, and 4 x Tornado GR-1 "Strikers"

- Total of 18, all based at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

- LtCol North led 4 x F-16C from the 33rd FS with Mavericks, CBU's, and conventional bombs

- F-15E's of the 335th FS hit Tallil, Samawah, & Najaf

v 51 Support Aircraft (Package total of 69)

- ECM, SEAD, CAP, SWEEP, AWACS, tankers, etc.

v the USN was going to send A-6E's and F/A-18C's against the SAM battery at Az Zubayr (near Basra), but the site was moved.

v there were SA-3 batteries at Tallil AB and at Nasiyra

In the North, Wild Weasel F-4's fired HARM Missiles at an SA-6 "Straight Flush" Radar and dropped cluster bombs on Bashiqa Airfield

v 3 x SA- 6 batteries have been positioned south of Mosul

v 1 x SA-2 battery has been placed at ther Saddam Dam

v 2 x F4G's fired 4 x HARM's

v 2 x F-16C's dropped 4 x CBU Cluster Bombs on a AA Gun near Bashiqa Airfield (15 miles northeast of Mosul)

An F-15C Eagle from the 36th Fighter Wing at Eglin, was said to have not downed a MiG-25 Foxbat E after firing 1 x AMRAAM and 1 x AIM-7 Sparrow at it. Other information says the MiG might have actually fired a missile at the F-15 and then landed. A Hughes memo (19Jan93) states that: "Launch was at a confirmed

MiG-29 from Eglin F-15 on18Jan93. Launch range was 27 nm at shooter altitude of 35K. At 17 nm, he shot a Sparrow at the same target". Other reports say he launched a Sidewinder AIM-9M at in in close.

v Hughes is sure that the AMRAAM got the kill

v AWACS was uncertain of the results

v There was smoke observed and the Iraqi SAR alert was sounded

The largest salvo of Tomahawk kand attack missiles ever fired destroyed an Iraqi nuclear weapons facility as the Allied aircvraft attacked air defense sites. US Navy ships launched 45 x TLAM's ay 12:08 pm EST at the Zaahfarinayah Nuclear Weapons Facility, about 17 miles southeast of Bagdad. Most of the missiles impacted around 1:15 pm. The facility consisted of seven buildings and was not struck during the war.

(Sunday) A US Warplane destroyed an Iraqi Radar site that was tracking it south of the "No-Fly" Zone over northern Iraq. The section of F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft felt threatened by the lock-up and responded with 1 x HARM missile. Both aircraft were based at Incirlik AB, Turkey. The Iraqi news agency said that three soldiers were wounded. The attack occurred 33 miles (53 km) south of the oil city of Mosul, outside the air exclusion zone being south of the 36th Parallel. The F-4G's were inside the zone throughout the action.

19 Jan 93 An F-4G fired a HARM at an Iraqi SAM after a 14 nm lock-on east of Mosul. 1 hour

later an F-16C was fired on by AAA but not hit. 2 hours later a section of F-16C's

were fired on and dropped cluster bombs on guns north of Mosul. Iraq calls a cease fire

to celebrate Clinton's inaugeration.

21 Jan 93 A pair of US Aircraft attacked an Iraqi SAM site. A Hunter-Killer Weasel Team of an

F-4G an F-16C struck the site at 5:09 am EST, just 17 hours after President Clinton

took office. The 2 x USAF Wild Weasels were escorting a French Reconnaissance configured Mirage F-1 on a "routine monitoring mission" north of the 36th Parallel near

Mosul when the plane were taken on by ground fire. The aircraft were then painted by Iraqi SAM radar and the F-4G launched a HARM anti-radiation missile 12 miles north of

Mosul (19 km)

22 Jan 93 2 x HARM's fired by F-4G's

23 Jan 93 A-6E's from VA-52 "Knight Riders" escorted by F/A-18's responding to flashes drop

LGB's on surface gunfire (USS Kitty Hawk)

16 Aug 93 A House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Study released today said that The US had a poor picturte of Iraq's nuclear capabilities during the Gulf War at lease4t in part

because so much many people in the DIA Staff were assigned to looking for missing

veterans of the Vietnam War. 42 people were on those tasks and only 2 were assigned to Iraq. After the war, defectors showed that the US was not aware of at least 50% of

Iraq's nuclear research and development resources.

15 Nov 93 GAO Report Released: "Operation Desert Storm: An Assessment of Aerial refueling"

The GAO found that "tankers often returned to base with large amounts of unused fuel, some of which had to be dumped in order for the tanker to land". This differed greatly

from the after-action report of the CENTAF Commander which stated that constraints

on the numbers of available tankers greatly limited the quantity of combat missions he could assign. CENTAF also believed that the number of tanker bases and airspace tracks

were saturated and more aircraft could not have been utilized if they were available.

The GAO report specified that the efficiency of tanker utilization was the major

problem. The GAO suggested a hard look at training and doctrine in refueling.

Gulf War Chronology

1993 Operations after the war