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Operation Desert Storm:
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COMBAT SUPPORT PLATFORMS Appendix X
RECONNAISSANCE PLATFORMS --------------------------------------------------------- Appendix X:1 [DELETED] reconnaissance platforms, including TR-1As, U-2s, RF-4Cs, RC-135s, and S-3A/Bs were deployed to the Persian Gulf theater. Reconnaissance platforms provided support to combat aircraft by serving as airborne intelligence collection platforms, and they could also provide communications and electronic and photographic intelligence on enemy targets or situations. In Desert Storm, intelligence from reconnaissance platforms was used for target study, to plan strike missions, and for BDA purposes. U-2/TR-1 intelligence was used in strike missions against Scud missile launchers, ships, Iraqi tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery. Before the air campaign began, airborne intelligence collectors, such as RC-135s and U-2/TR-1s, flew near the Iraqi-Saudi border and gathered data on the nature of the Iraqi air defense system. SURVEILLANCE PLATFORMS --------------------------------------------------------- Appendix X:2 There were approximately [DELETED] airborne surveillance and control platforms, comprised of E-8 JSTARS, E-3 AWACS, E-2C Hawkeye, and U.S. Marine Corps OV-10s. Respectively, these surveillance platforms provided early-warning surveillance for Navy aircraft carriers (E-2C), command and control for Desert Storm air defense forces (AWACS), identification of friend or foe (IFF) capability, and airborne surveillance of ground targets (JSTARS). Because of the large number of aircraft simultaneously operating during the air campaign, AWACS was critical for IFF, [DELETED]. Marine Corps OV-10s conducted radio relay and visual reconnaissance missions on ground troop targets and maintained 24-hour coverage over the battlefield once the ground war started. Notable from the Gulf War was JSTARS, which flew its first operational mission in Desert Storm. JSTARS collected intelligence on the movement of Iraqi ground forces in the KTO and other parts of the theater where ground troops were situated. [DELETED] ELECTRONIC COMBAT PLATFORMS --------------------------------------------------------- Appendix X:3 Platforms that conducted electronic combat missions or electronic warfare in a combat-support role included EF-111s, EC-135s, EC-130s, and EA-6B aircraft. These aircraft conducted missions that either involved jamming of enemy radars or attempted the destruction of radar sites with the use of HARM missiles or tactical air-launched decoys, within the range of enemy radars, for deception purposes. Because electronic combat support missions helped disinfect target areas of threats to strike aircraft, they facilitated the ability of primary strike aircraft to conduct attacks on targets. ABCCC --------------------------------------------------------- Appendix X:4 EC-130Es served as airborne battlefield command, control, and communication (ABCCC) combat support platforms. ABCCC was designed to provide real-time command and control over air forces. With ABCCC, commanders on the ground could relay real-time information on war developments and, if necessary, ABCCC could then relay information to aircraft, providing a near real-time response mechanism to unfolding events. ABCCC provided support to F-15Es operating in kill boxes by providing target deconfliction information before bomb deliveries. ABCCC also provided real-time ATO and BDA information to some units, which pilots pointed out as helpful to mission planning and strike activity given the large time lags in the formal ATO and BDA dissemination process.
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