Aviation Week & Space Technology August 19, 2002
Qatar's Role To Be Key in Iraq Conflict
 Al Udeid Airbase, Qatar Qatar's location in the Persian Gulf makes it the perfect site for launching strikes against Iraq and housing a new combined air operations center. It is also far enough from Iraq to provide ample warning time against air or missile attack. The base has a munitions storage area to the west and a tent city to the east. ; Photograph: A new parking ramp at the north end of the runway is already host to KC-135 tankers and a C-17 transport. Just across the diagonal taxiways is one of the large, new hardened hangars. A pyramid-shaped structure (below) at mid-field serves as bomb shelter and possible command center. The ramp holds KC-10 tankers and two RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic intelligence gathering aircraft. To the left are sun shields for up to two dozen fighters. ; Photograph: With a different sun angle, the faceted structure of a second hardened hangar shows up well (top). Perhaps the most interesting area on the base is what appears to be a newly constructed combined air and space operations center (above). The entire facility is surrounded by barbed wire. The most secure areas, protected by another layer of wire, would house sensitive compartmented intelligence facilities such as an information warfare cell (for planting false targets in air defense systems and trolling enemy computers for secrets) and the air operations center. |
Faced with the loss of Saudi Arabia's large airfields for combat operations and, in particular, the critical combined air operations center (CAOC) at Prince Sultan AB, south of Riyadh (which is staffed with 1,500 top Allied war planners), the U.S. has been building and enlarging bases elsewhere.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has resisted the use of its facilities to launch attacks against any of its neighbors, therefore allied preparations for an attack on Iraq have focused recently on adding new capabilities to bases in the region, and preparing for their more intense operational use.
These efforts range from repairing three airfields capable of landing C-130 transports, in Kurd-controlled Northern Iraq, to expanding Al Udeid AB near Doha on the east coast of Qatar. The latter has become important because it now has more ramp and hangar space for aircraft, and because it will host the new CAOC for the region. The CAOC, in the event of conflict, would coordinate minute-to-minute air operations. The U.S. will also rely heavily on bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Turkey. IN THE LAST YEAR, Al Udeid has had its ramp space increased dramatically and is already host to KC-135 and KC-10 tankers. A large number of drive-through shelters have been constructed to allow the maintenance and arming of scores of attack aircraft in the shade. Three hardened, pyramid-like structures have been built: one at each end of the airfield and the third near the control tower at mid-field. These apparently serve as shelters and, possibly, as command and control sites.
The base's growth has been mentioned by Pentagon officials in recent months, but was first detailed by John Pike and Tim Brown of Global Security.org, who examined and measured the facility and posted their findings on the organization's Public Eye section of their Web site in early August. The initial picture came from Space Imaging's Ikonos on Jan. 13 and the second from DigitalGlobe's Quick Bird on June 13.
Also of interest is the construction on the northeast side of the field of the new CAOC. It looks much like the new Joint Air and Space Operations Center constructed at Nellis AFB, Nev., for the recent joint expeditionary force exercise. Such facilities are a theater's central node for planning and a highly communications-intensive facility that is hard to duplicate. The JASOC has been redesigned and automated to dramatically reduce (by 75-80%) the number of people required to run an air war. What surprises many about the CAOC structures at Al Udeid is that they appear to be temporary and are not hardened against high explosives or chemical/biological attack like those at Prince Sultan. However, the temporary structures could simply be an expedient until better-protected facilities are available. Upgrades are to be completed by December.
Two other buildings on the base have piqued interest. Tucked between taxiways radiating east from each end of the runway are two unique structures. They are large hardened hangars designed to handle fighter-size aircraft. They can use a drive-through taxiway on one side of the structure. Adjacent is an entrance to the hangar with a single taxiway into it. Initially it looks big enough to house command and control aircraft that serve as the airborne adjunct to the ground-based CAOC/JASOC. But close examination shows taxi stripes into two small entrances instead of a single large one. Blast walls that protect the entrances would keep out aircraft with a wingspan of more than 62 ft.
The big structures' faceted exteriors, which resemble an F-117's skin, have led to speculation about their having been designed to reduce radar reflectivity by breaking up returns. Visually they blend into the surrounding sand due to their color and irregular shape. Some Air Force officials said the design simply reflects the cheapest, most expedient way to build a big hardened structure. However, it's likely the faceted surfaces are part of a design for deflecting conventional bombs.
© Copyright 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
