Air Force quietly building Iraq presence

[Guest guest]

I am posting this and a subsequent articlev (scroll down to see it)

to build the case that the US is preparing to bomb Iran and/or

Syria. Why, after all, would we be sending squadrons of B-52s (which

are long range bombers which drop " rows " of bombs " instead of

surgical strikes) into Iraq while Congress keeps pushing for a

withdraw?

Why would be send squadrons of robot attack drones over there? These

planes are expensive to send there, expensive to maintain, and

require expensive and heavily staffed support, refueling, and repair

stations.

It does not make sense that we would only BEGIN such a buildup now

that the public wants a withdraw from Iraq.

Tom

Administrator

http://news./s/ap/20070714/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_air_surge_i;_

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Air Force quietly building Iraq presence

By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent

Sat Jul 14, 2:25 PM ET

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq - Away from the headlines and debate over

the " surge " in U.S. ground troops, the Air Force has quietly built

up its hardware inside Iraq, sharply stepped up bombing and laid a

foundation for a sustained air campaign in support of American and

Iraqi forces.

Squadrons of attack planes have been added to the in-country fleet.

The air reconnaissance arm has almost doubled since last year. The

powerful B1-B bomber has been recalled to action over Iraq.

The escalation worries some about an increase in " collateral

damage, " casualties among Iraqi civilians. Air Force generals worry

about wear and tear on aging aircraft. But ground commanders clearly

like what they see.

" Night before last we had 14 strikes from B-1 bombers. Last night we

had 18 strikes by B-1 bombers, " Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said

approvingly of air support his 3rd Infantry Division received in a

recent offensive south of Baghdad.

Statistics tell the story: Air Force and Navy aircraft dropped 437

bombs and missiles in Iraq in the first six months of 2007, a

fivefold increase over the 86 used in the first half of 2006, and

three times more than in the second half of 2006, according to Air

Force data. In June, bombs dropped at a rate of more than five a day.

Inside spacious, air-conditioned " Kingpin, " a new air traffic

control center at this huge Air Force hub 50 miles north of Baghdad,

the expanded commitment can be seen on the central display screen:

Small points of light represent more than 100 aircraft crisscrossing

Iraqi air space at any one time.

The increased air activity has paralleled the reinforcement of U.S.

ground troops, beginning in February, to try to suppress the

insurgency and sectarian violence in the Baghdad region. Simply

keeping those 30,000 additional troops supplied has added to demands

on the Air Force.

" We're the busiest aerial port in DOD (Department of Defense), " said

Col. Dave Reynolds, a mission support commander here. Working 12-

hour shifts, his cargo handlers are expected to move 140,000 tons of

cargo this year, one-third more than in 2006, he said.

The greatest impact of the " air surge " has come in close air support

for Army and Marine operations.

Early this year, with little fanfare, the Air Force sent a squadron

of A-10 " Warthog " attack planes — a dozen or more aircraft — to be

based at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. At the same time it added

a squadron of F-16C Fighting Falcons here at Balad. Although some

had flown missions over Iraq from elsewhere in the region, the

additions doubled to 50 or more the number of workhorse fighter-

bomber jets available at bases inside the country, closer to the

action.

The reinforcement involved more than numbers. The new F-16Cs were

the first of the advanced " Block 50 " version to fly in Iraq, an

aircraft whose technology includes a cockpit helmet that enables the

pilot to aim his weapons at a target simply by turning his head and

looking at it.

The Navy has contributed by stationing a second aircraft carrier in

the Persian Gulf, and the reintroduction of B1-Bs has added a close-

at-hand " platform " capable of carrying 24 tons of bombs.

Those big bombers were moved last year from distant Diego in

the Indian Ocean to an undisclosed base in the Persian Gulf. Since

February, with the ground offensive, they have gone on Iraq bombing

runs for the first time since the 2003 invasion.

As chronicled in the Air Force's daily summaries, more and more

pilots are getting the " cleared hot " clearance for bombing runs,

usually with 500-pound bombs. In recent Army operations north of

Baghdad, for example, Air Force planes have struck " factories " for

makeshift bombs, weapons caches uncovered by ground troops and, in

one instance, " several houses insurgents were using as fire

positions. "

Iraq Body Count, a London-based, anti-war research group that

monitors Iraqi war deaths, says the step-up in air attacks appears

to have been accompanied by an increase in Iraqi civilian casualties

from air strikes. Based on media reports, it counts a recent average

of 50 such deaths per month.

The Air Force itself does not maintain such data.

The demand for air support is heavy. On one recent day, at a

briefing attended by a reporter, it was noted that 48 requests for

air support were filled, but 16 went unmet.

" There are times when the Army wishes we had more jets, " said F-16C

pilot Lt. Col. Steve , commander of the 13th Expeditionary

Fighter Squadron, a component of Balad's 379th Air Expeditionary

Wing.

In addition, the Air Force is performing more " ISR " work in Iraq —

intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. " We have probably

come close to doubling our ISR platforms the past 12 months, " said

Col. Crowder, a deputy air operations chief for the Central

Command.

Those proliferating reconnaissance platforms include Predator

drones, high-flying U2s and AWACS, the technology-packed airborne

warning and control aircraft, three of which returned to the Persian

Gulf in April after three years' absence.

The F-16Cs and other attack planes also do surveillance work with

their targeting cameras, keeping watch on convoy routes, for

example. By Oct. 1, Crowder said, all squadrons will have " ROVER "

capability, able to download real-time aerial video to the laptop

computers of troops on the ground — showing them, in effect, what's

around the next corner.

" They love it. It's like having a security camera wherever you want

it, " said Col. Joe Guastella, the Air Force's regional operations

chief.

Air Force engineers, meanwhile, are improving this centrally located

home base, which supports some 10,000 air operations per week.

The weaker of Balad's two 11,000-foot runways was reinforced — for

five to seven years' more hard use. The engineers next will build

concrete " overruns " at the runways' ends. Balad's strategic ramp,

the concrete parking lot for its biggest planes, was expanded last

fall. The air traffic control system is to be upgraded again with

the latest technology.

" We'd like to get it to be a field like Langley, if you will, " said

mission support chief Reynolds, referring to the Air Force showcase

base in Virginia.

The Air Force has flown over Iraq for many years, having

enforced " no-fly zones " with the Navy in 1991-2003, banning Iraqi

aircraft from northern and southern areas of this country. Today,

too, it takes a long view: Many expect the Army to draw down its

Iraq forces by 2009, but the Air Force is planning for a continued

conflict in which it supports Iraqi troops.

" Until we can determine that the Iraqis have got their air force to

sufficient capability, I think the coalition will be here to support

that effort, " Lt. Gen. North, overall regional air commander,

said in an interview. The new Iraqi air force thus far fields only a

handful of transports and reconnaissance aircraft — no attack

planes.

North also echoed a common theme in today's Air Force: Some of the

U.S. planes are too old. Some of his KC-135 air-refueling tankers

date from 1956. Heavy use in Iraq and Afghanistan is cracking the

wings of some A-10s, the Air Force says.

" We are burning these airplanes out, " North said. " Our A-10s and our

F-16s are rapidly becoming legacy systems. "

If the equipment is under strain, it doesn't appear the personnel

are.

The Air Force's four-month Iraq tours and extensive use of volunteer

pilots from the Reserve and National Guard contrast sharply with an

Army whose 15-month tours are sapping energy and morale.

In the Air Force, Iraq duty can even be cut to two months. Lt. Col.

Bob Mortensen's 457th Fighter Squadron — F-16Cs from Fort Worth,

Texas — managed it by working a deal with another Reserve unit to

share one four-month rotation.

How much longer can these flyers answer the call?

" As many times as we're asked, " Mortensen said.

http://news./s/ap/20070715/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_air_surge_ii;

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Robot air attack squadron bound for Iraq

By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent

1 hour, 32 minutes ago

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq - The airplane is the size of a jet fighter,

powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach

50,000 feet. It's outfitted with infrared, laser and radar

targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles.

The Reaper is loaded, but there's no one on board. Its pilot, as it

bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away

in Nevada.

The arrival of these outsized U.S. " hunter-killer " drones, in

aviation history's first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed

moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to

hunt and kill.

That moment, one the Air Force will likely low-key, is

expected " soon, " says the regional U.S. air commander. How

soon? " We're still working that, " Lt. Gen. North said in an

interview.

The Reaper's first combat deployment is expected in Afghanistan, and

senior Air Force officers estimate it will land in Iraq sometime

between this fall and next spring. They look forward to it.

" With more Reapers, I could send manned airplanes home, " North said.

The Associated Press has learned that the Air Force is building a

400,000-square-foot expansion of the concrete ramp area now used for

Predator drones here at Balad, the biggest U.S. air base in Iraq, 50

miles north of Baghdad. That new staging area could be turned over

to Reapers.

It's another sign that the Air Force is planning for an extended

stay in Iraq, supporting Iraqi government forces in any continuing

conflict, even if U.S. ground troops are drawn down in the coming

years.

The estimated two dozen or more unmanned MQ-1 Predators now doing

surveillance over Iraq, as the 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance

Squadron, have become mainstays of the U.S. war effort, offering

round-the-clock airborne " eyes " watching over road convoys, tracking

nighttime insurgent movements via infrared sensors, and occasionally

unleashing one of their two Hellfire missiles on a target.

From about 36,000 flying hours in 2005, the Predators are expected

to log 66,000 hours this year over Iraq and Afghanistan.

The MQ-9 Reaper, when compared with the 1995-vintage Predator,

represents a major evolution of the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV.

At five tons gross weight, the Reaper is four times heavier than the

Predator. Its size — 36 feet long, with a 66-foot wingspan — is

comparable to the profile of the Air Force's workhorse A-10 attack

plane. It can fly twice as fast and twice as high as the Predator.

Most significantly, it carries many more weapons.

While the Predator is armed with two Hellfire missiles, the Reaper

can carry 14 of the air-to-ground weapons — or four Hellfires and

two 500-pound bombs.

" It's not a recon squadron, " Col. Joe Guasella, operations chief for

the Central Command's air component, said of the Reapers. " It's an

attack squadron, with a lot more kinetic ability. "

" Kinetic " — Pentagon argot for destructive power — is what the Air

Force had in mind when it christened its newest robot plane with a

name associated with death.

" The name Reaper captures the lethal nature of this new weapon

system, " Gen. T. Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, said in

announcing the name last September.

General Atomics of San Diego has built at least nine of the MQ-9s

thus far, at a cost of $69 million per set of four aircraft, with

ground equipment.

The Air Force's 432nd Wing, a UAV unit formally established on May

1, is to eventually fly 60 Reapers and 160 Predators. The numbers to

be assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan will be classified.

The Reaper is expected to be flown as the Predator is — by a two-

member team of pilot and sensor operator who work at computer

control stations and video screens that display what the UAV " sees. "

Teams at Balad, housed in a hangar beside the runways, perform the

takeoffs and landings, and similar teams at Nevada's Creech Air

Force Base, linked to the aircraft via satellite, take over for the

long hours of overflying the Iraqi landscape.

American ground troops, equipped with laptops that can download real-

time video from UAVs overhead, " want more and more of it, " said Maj.

Snodgrass, the Predator squadron commander here.

The Reaper's speed will help. " Our problem is speed, " Snodgrass said

of the 140-mph Predator. " If there are troops in contact, we may not

get there fast enough. The Reaper will be faster and fly farther. "

The new robot plane is expected to be able to stay aloft for 14

hours fully armed, watching an area and waiting for targets to

emerge.

" It's going to bring us flexibility, range, speed and persistence, "

said regional commander North, " such that I will be able to work

lots of areas for a long, long time. "

The British also are impressed with the Reaper, and are buying three

for deployment in Afghanistan later this year. The Royal Air Force

version will stick to the " recon " mission, however — no weapons on

board.