The Tampa Tribune (Florida) March 20, 2003
From Land and Air
PRIMARY AIRCRAFT
AV-8B Harrier II
Primary function - Attack and destroy surface targets day or night
Speed - Subsonic to transonic
Ceiling - Not available
Range - 2,416.64 miles
F-117A Nighthawk
Primary function - Stealth fighter/attack
Speed - High subsonic
Ceiling - Not available
Range - Unlimited with air refueling
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Primary function - Multirole fighter
Speed - Mach 2
Ceiling - 50,000+ feet
Range - 2,000 miles
F-14 Tomcat
Primary function - Carrier-based multirole
Speed - Mach 1.88
Ceiling - 50,000+ feet
Range - 1,595 miles
F-15E Strike Eagle
Primary function - Air-to-ground attack aircraft
Speed - Mach 2.5+
Ceiling 50,000 feet
Range - 2,400 miles
F-15 Eagle
Primary function - Tactical fighter
Speed - Mach 2.5+
Ceiling - 65,000 feet
Range - 3,450 miles
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
Primary function - Multirole attack and fighter aircraft
Speed - Mach 1.8+
Ceiling - 50,000 feet
Range - 1,467 miles
B-2 Spirit
Primary function - Multirole, heavy stealth bomber
Speed - High subsonic
Ceiling - 50,000 feet
Range - Intercontinental, unrefueled
EA-6B Prowler
Primary function - Electronic countermeasures
Speed - Mach 0.77
Ceiling - 37,600 feet
Range - 1,150 miles
FROM LAND AND AIR
THE APACHE GUNSHIP
The $22 million AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter can hit targets at longer ranges and fight more effectively at night and in bad weather than the version used in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Maximum speed: 165 mph
Maximum range: 300 miles
70 mm rockets
Hellfire missile
Navigation system - Includes thermal imager, daylight television; pilot night vision lets crew navigate, attack in darkness
Artist's concept of a 2.75-inch rocket with BAE SYSTEMS laser guidance unit launched from a U.S. Army Apache helicopter
Weaponry combined to suit specific Apache mission
70 mm unguided rockets
Range: About 4 miles
Number on board: Up to 76
Hellfire antitank missile
Range: About 5 miles
Number on board: Up to 16
30 mm machine gun
Range: About 1.5 miles
Rounds on board: 1,200; fires 625 rounds a minute
MAKING A MOVE
Deployed to Persian Gulf area with many other units, the 101st Airborne Divison is one of the world's most potent fighting forces. A possible battle plan:
Staging
The officers and troops prepare for the operation while reconnaissance and attack helicopters gather data about enemy locations and make initial missile strikes.
Mast-Mounted Sight
OH-58 Kiowa Warrior
The Army's main reconnaissance helicopter flies low and out of sight. A mast-mounted sight collects information about the enemy and digitally relays it to the rest of the battalion.
AH-64 Apache
One of the world's deadliest weapons, the AH-64 uses its ability to fly low behind cover and its precision Hellfire missile system against the enemy before troops hit the ground.
H-60 Black Hawk
The Army's workhorse can move an entire 11-man platoon, a HMMWV vehicle, a howitzer cannon, or supplies.
Initial Landing Zone
An artillery brigade lands, dropping troops, trucks and cannons. On the ground, the brigade engages the enemy while bombing the next landing zone to keep it clear.
Second Landin Zone
A second brigade sweeps to the flank of the enemy using precise communication to arrive moments after artillery fire has ceased, ensuring a safe drop. The enemy is forced to defend in two directions.
M2A3 BRADLEY
Primary function: Infantry/cavalry vehicle
Main armament: 25 mm cannon (chain-gun), 7.62 mm coaxially mounted machine gun, TOW missile launcher with twin tubes
Cannon shots per minute: 200
Armor: Adequetley protected against artillery and small arms fire
Crew: 3 plus up to 7 soldiers
M1 ABRAMS
Primary function: Main battle tank
Main armament: 105 mm rifled M68 cannon; later models use 120 mm smoothbore M256
Cannon shots per minute: 12
Firing range: 3,000 yards
Armor: Reinforced armor, can withstand almost everything but direct artillery hits.
Crew: 4
M-998 HMMWV
Primary function: Multipurpose wheeled vehicle
Crew: Driver and 3 soldiers, but can carry up to 8 passengers if used solely as a troop carrier
Main armament: Varies by model
Cannon shots per minute: 12
Armor: Basic
THE AIRCRAFT BATTLE GROUP
Few things display the U.S. commitment to its foreign policy better than the presence of an aircraft carrier battle group. The aircraft carrier is the centerpiece of the battle group. Its rear admiral commands the entire group. It brings an air wing, a squadron of planes, within striking distance of enemy forces
Crew: 5,680 (Ship's company 3,200; air wing 2,480)
E-2C Hawkeye
An E-2C Hawkeye , equipped with radar that can track thousands of targets within 150,000 square miles, provides early warning for the carrier.
Crew of 5
Oiler/Supply Ship
A fule storage ship for the carrier air wing, cruisers, destroyers and frigates.
40 officers, 627 enlisted
Guided Missile Destroyer
Mainly used for defense against air and submarine threats, they can also strike a target on land with Tomahawk cruise missiles - missiles that can strike from almost 1,000 miles away.
23 officers, 300 enlisted
Guided Missile Cruiser
Cruisers protect a carrier from an air attack with high-power radar systems to detect a threat and surface-to-air missiles to intercept it. They are almost always in the vicinity of the carrier.
24 officers, 340 enlisted
Submarine
Attack submarine can destroy enemy ships and gather intelligence on foreign forces. They can also transport special operations forces on clandestine missions.
13 officers, 121 enlisted
Frigate
Used for antisubmarine warfare and maritime intercept operations, but does not carry long-range missiles.
13 officers, 287 enlisted
Destroyer
Used for antisubmarine warfare, destroyers also conduct maritime intercept operations, forcing entry onto a foreign ship suspected of smuggling illegal weapons or carrying terrorists. Destroyers are supplied with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
30 officers, 352 enlisted
PRECISION STRIKE WEAPON
The U.S. Navy's Tomahawk cruise missile is the weapon of choice for precision strike missions against high value or heavily defended targets. It can be launched from Seawolf or Los Angeles-class submarines, or cruisers and destroyer surface ships
Tomahawk Land Attack Missile
Range*: 700-1,000 miles
Speed*: 550 mph
Warhead: 1,000-pound conventional warhead; submunition dispenser with combined effect bomblets; 297-pound nuclear device
Cost per missile*: $600,000
* figures are approximate
Flight
A booster rocket propels the missile to about 1,200 feet, where the wings fold out and the turbofan engine takes control.
Cruise
Can hug terrain at an altitude as low as 50 feet, using stored elevation maps, on board radar and the Global Positioning System
Strike
Onboard camera compares the actual target to a stored image, and makes any final route changes. Can carry payloads ranging from a single warhead to combined bomblets capable of striking up to three targets.
MAKING BOMBS SMARTER
U.S. forces have more and better "smart bombs" than they did in the 1991
Persian Gulf War, when several thousand Iraqi civilians were killed.
Tomahawk Cruise Missile
Highly accurate. Hard for enemy to detect because it flies low to ground, below the range of most radar systems.
Launched with solid-fuel booster rocket, then powered by turbojet.
Turbojet Engine
Guidance Equipment
AGM-130
Air-to-ground guided missile
Dropped from airplane at high or low altitude and at long range from target. Can be steered in flight by human operator.
GUIDANCE SYSTEMS
Inertial guidance, GPS, Data link
Data link
Camera on missile sends video images to bombing plane, whose weapon systems officer steers bomb by remote control.
Warhead: 2,000 pounds
Cost: $880,000
Joint Direct Attack Munition
Tali kit added to existing free-fall bombs. Computer determines when aircraft releases weapon based on Global Positioning System
coordinates and the plane's speed and altitude.
GUIDANCE SYSTEMS
Inertial guidance, GPS
Warhead: 1,000-2,000 pounds
Cost: $21,000
Tribune graphic; Sources: Knight/Ridder Tribune; The Associated Press; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Army; U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Navy; Jane's Information Group; GlobalSecurity.org; "Air and Space Power Chronicle"; Dallas Morning News; Federation of American Scientists' Program Executive Office Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation; Chicago Tribune; Encyclopedia Britannica; CIA World Factbook; Brookings Institution; HowStuffWorks
NOTES: (FROM LAND AND AIR) STRIKE ON IRAQ
Copyright © 2003, The Tribune Co.
